TARR AND MCMURRY GEOGRAPHIES 




SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME 



ILLINOIS 



BY 

FRANK W. DARLING 

HEAD OK DKPARTMENT OF GKOGRAPHY 
CHICAGO NORMAL SCHOOL 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1904 / 



\ 



All rights reserved 



ILLINOIS 



rhe^)C^o, 



TARR AND McMURRY GEOGRAPHIES 



SUFPLEMENTA R Y VOL UME 



ILLINOIS 



BY 

FRANK W.' DARLING 

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY 
CHICAGO NORMAL SCHOOL 



Neb) iorit 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
1904 

All rights reserved 



LIBRARY Of 00N6RESS 
Two Oopies Received 
AUG 8 1904 
Copyrieht Entry 

CLASS Ok,XXo. No. 

' COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published Julv, 1904. 



PREFACE 

The controlling' purpose in writing this supplement has been 
to show the cause and effect relations of existing facts in such a 
way that the pupils will not be burdened with a superfluity of 
geographical statistics and data, but will learn rather to see the 
development of facts in their true relations, and thus gain a quality 
of mind enabling them to generalize, from things once experienced, 
conclusions concerning new facts. The aim is to teach the 
child rather tlian the subject-matter. For this reason much space 
has been devoted to showing the dependence of products, industries, 
and locations upon tlie physiographic conditions. The mere tabu- 
lation of facts has been made to give way to relative and logically 
connected statements, in which the mention of places and industries 
is naturally pertinent. The object has been to produce a geog- 
raphy of Illinois which shall have intrinsic value and not merely 
serve as an aid in the selling of the series. 

Hearty acknowledgment is due to the authors of the general 
series, not only for helpful criticism, but mainly for their splendid 
causal treatment of the subject-matter in the series, which has 
stimulated its use in this supplement as well as in geography 
teaching generally. 

Acknowledgment is also made for the photographs and sug- 
gestive matter so kindly furnished by Mr. A. L. Klank, Industrial 
Agent for the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway, Mt. Vernon, 
Illinois, and to Mr. C. E. Siebenthal, of the United States Geologi- 
cal Survey, wlio made the models of the Chicago Plain, photo- 
graphs of which were furnished through the courtesy of the Field 
Columbian Museum. 

FRANK VV. DARLING. 

Chicago Normal School, 
Chicago, Illinois. 




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RELIEF MAP 
OF 

ILLINOIS 



Fig. 1. 



CONTENTS 



I'reface ........ 

CHAPTEE I 



A General View. 1 

Relief, 1. Rivers, 2. Soil and Bed-rock, 4. Glaciation, 5. Climate, 10. 

CHAPTER II 

Physiographical Regions ........... 1.3 

The Chicago Plain, 13. The Illinois River Basin, 14. The Rock River 
Basin, 16. The Kaskaskia River Basin, 17. The Big Muddy River 
Basin, 18. The Wabash River Basin, 18. The Southern Non-glaciated 
Region, 19. 

CHAPTER III 
PEARLY History of Illinois .......... 21 

The Indian Period, 21. Period of French Settlement, 2.3. Struggle for 
Ownership, 24. Period of American Settlement, 24. War of 1812, 25. 
Period of Statehood, 25. 

CHAPTER IV 

Cities and Counties by Physiographical Regions ...... 30 

The Chicago Plain, 30. The Illinois River Basin, 41. The Kaskaskia 
River Basin, 54. The Big Muddy River Basin, 56. The Southern Non- 
glaciated Region, 58. The Wabash River Basin, 60. The Rock River 
Basin, 61. 

CHAPTER V 
Summary ...... ... 67 

Population, 67. Agriculture and Mining, 67. Transportation and Manu- 
facture, 68. Government, 71. 

Appendix. — Growth of Population, 73. Table of Illinois Soils, 73. 

Index . 75 



ILIilNOlS 

CHAPTER I 

A General View 

United States Relief Map Questions. - On the relief map of tlie United 
States find the junction of the Mississippi and Oliio rivers. 

By measuring, tell about what proportion of the distance froni the 
Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, on a line drawn straight through the junc- 
tion, this junction is. What proportion of the distance from the Gulf 
coast to Lake Superior V How much of the adjacent land slopes toward 
this junction ? What part slopes away frour this junction ? What rivers 
show these slopes of the land by their courses ? Find the triangular piece 
of land included between the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash rivers, and 
Lake Michigan. In what direction do the rivers flow in the western part 
of this triangle ? in the southeastern part ? in the northeastern corner ? 

Relief. — Illinois is called the " Prairie State " because, in the 
main, it has a broad, flat, nearly treeless, surface. It is not level, 
however, like the great plains farther west, but is gently rolling, 
with gradually sloping hills and broad, shallow valleys. The relief 
map shows that in the northwestern corner of the state there are 
some very high, rugged hills. This is the highest part of the state. 
Another line of hills runs across the southern part of the state from 
the Mississippi to the Ohio River. Th«se rise abruptly from the low 
land to the north. On the south they slope more gradually down 
to the Ohio River. This southern line of hills is an extended spur of 
the Ozark Mountains. (Where are the Ozark Mountains ?) 

In the central part of the state, between these elevated extremi- 
ties, is a depression which on the relief map looks like a great scar 
extending in a southwesterly direction almost across the state from 
Lake Michigan to the INIississippi River. This is the broad and deep 
valley of the largest and most important river in the state, the Illinois 
River. You will observe that this valley is separated from Lake 
Michigan by a low ridge of land, which extends across the northeast 
corner of the state, following the same curve as the shore line. 

1 



^ ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

This ridge forms the divide which naturally kept the water of 
J.ake Michigan from flowing out through the Illinois Kiver, and it 
was this ridge that had to be cut through in making the Chicago 
Drainage Canal. (See page 14.) You will liave to look closely at 
the map to see a broader ridge running parallel with this divide in a 
broken ci-escent-like slope from tlie eastern side of the state to the 
northern boundary, through which the Illinois River has cut There 
IS still another ridge, narrower and sliorter, but having the same gen- 
eral slope, which lies still farther south, through the middle of which 
the Lmbarras River has cut. (Find each of the rivers named.) 

These ridges are lieaps of earth, piled up as though some great 
force had scraped the soil out of the bottom of Lake Michigan 

and left it massed in these long 
mounds. All the rivers flow away 
from these ridges, showing that the 
surface of the state slopes gener- 
ally towards the south. 

In what direction do the rivers 
flow whicli are tributary to the 
Mississippi? In what direction do 
the branches of the Wabasli flow? 
Find a small river which flows 
northeast from these ridges into 
Lake Michigan, 

Rivers. — Illinois is naturally 
divided into seven great drainage 
areas. Eacli has its special char- 
acteristics of soil, products, and 
industries, and has developed more 
or less independently of its neigh- 
boring areas. P\)r the most part 
these areas are river basins which 
lie wholly wdtliin the state, and 
, - _ which are separated from adia- 

cent basins by divides which can be traced on the relief map. 

Two of these areas, however, are only parts of great slopes which 
lie mainly outside of the state, but which extend into Illinois • the 
northeastern part of the state is but a small part of the Great Lakes 
and St Lawrence Basin. This small portion of the state is called 
the Chicago Plain," and is drained by small streams like the 




Fig. 2. 
Divides, moraines, and soils of Illinois. 



A GENERAL VIEW 



3 



Chicago and Calumet rivers. That part of the state lying south of 
the southern ridge of hills is part of the Ohio River Basin and drains 
into the Ohio by short streams. 

Trace the divides which separate these other basins — the Rock River 
Basin ; the Illinois River Basin ; the Kaskaskia River Basin ; the Big 
Muddy River Basin ; the 
Wabash River Basin. 
Notice the slope of each 
basin and where the river 
rises in relation to these 
highlands you have studied. 
(See Figs. 1 and 2.) 



500 ft. 
Sea level 




Fig. .3. 
Section of Illinois east and west through Rockford. 



The Mississippi River 
has worn a deep valley 
along the western boun- 
dary, so that tlie general 
level of the state is much above that of the river, which is bordered 
with high and abrupt bluffs. Between the bluffs and the river is 
a low strip) of land, very level and but a few feet above the water. 
This land is apt to be flooded when the river is high ; it is called 
the Mississippi Ploodplain. This level strip is from one to six 
miles wide. 

The United States map shows that nearly all of the rivers of the 
surrounding states flow toward Illinois. This is because Illinois is 




ll 21 it 



13011 ft 
100" ft 



Fig. 4. 

Section of Illinois on the 89th meridian, showing topographical features of surface and heiglit 

ahove sea level. 

in the centre of the iuimeiise trough between the great mountain 
systems of the East and the West (see page 6, Complete Geography). 
The average elevation of Illinois above sea level is about 600 feet. 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 





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600 ft. 




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Fig. 5. 

Section of Illinois east and west through Bloomington, showing 
topographical features of surface and height ahove sea level. 



This is fully 100 feet lower than the average height of Indiana and 
450 feet lower than the average level of Wisconsin. 

The Soil and Bed-rock. — Wherever you live in Illinois, the sur- 
face of the land is covered with a fine-grained soil, which has resulted 

from the grinding 
and decay of rock. 
(See Chapter I, 
Introductory Ge- 
ography.) On tlie 
surface this soil is 
generally black or 
dark colored, be- 
cause the rock par- 
ticles are mixed 
with bits of decay- 
ing vegetation. Underneath this dark covering is usually found some 
lighter colored soil, which has little or no decayed vegetation in it. 
This under-soil differs greatly in different parts of the state ; and 
in most places there are several kinds of subsoil found in layers, 
one above the other. It may be clay, gravel, sand, silt, or resid- 
ual soil. When the subsoil is dug through, as in making a well, 
laying a foundation, or digging a mine, it is found to lie on 'top of 
a bed of solid rock. This rock generally lies in thick- layers. At 
many places, where the rock crops out at the surface, or where 
the rivers have worn through the soil and exposed it, this bed-rock 
can be seen without digging. At other places in the state the soil 
is so deep that wells are very seldom dug to the bed-rock. This 
bed-rock may ccmimonly include limestone, sandstone, shale, and coal. 
These are all stratified rocks, indicating that they must have been 
made by l)eing deposited as sediments in water, when the sea cov- 
ered this region. 

The pupils should be encouraged to investigate the soils and the bed-rock of the 
home region, identifying them and noting the order and place of occurrence. (See 
Appendix, for description of soils.) 

Most of Illinois lies in that region of North America which, dui'- 
ing the coal period, Avas many times raised and lowered, and for 
ages lay just above the water, when great swamps occupied the 
land. Each time the swamps sank below the water, a new layer of 
plant life was buried (see page 2, Complete Geography), so that in 
the bed-rock of two-thirds of Illinois coal can be rained (Fig. 6). 



A GENERAL VIEW 




Fig. 6. 
Coal areas of Illinois and Indiana. 



The layers of coal vary in thickness from a few inches to several 
feet. In phices, as many as sixteen layers of coal are found. 

On the map showing tlie coal region of Illinois you will see 
that coal is found mainly in the central area of the state. In some 
places the rivers have worn their 
valleys down through the bed- 
rock, exposing the ends of tlie 
coal seams. In sucli places the 
coal is easily mined by " drift 
mining " ; but over most of tlie 
state the coal is covered entirely 
by layers of rock and soil, and 
there shafts have to be sunk. 
(See page Q6, Complete .Geog- 
raphy.) 

Effect of the Great Ice Sheet. 
— The great American ice sheet, 
passing along the trough of Lake 
Michigan and tlie lowland of 
central Illinois, extended there much farther south than anywhere 
else in the United States. (See Fig. 9, Complete Geography.) It 
did not extend over the whole state, however, but melted just before 
reaching the hills, in the southern part of the state. For some 

reason the high- 
1 a n d i n t h e 
n o r t h w e s t e r ]i 
part of the state 
was never cov- 
ered. This part 
of the great ice 
sheet formed in 
what is now the 
D m in ion of 
Canada, north- 
east of Illinois, 
and pushed out 
its edge, slowly 
breaking off 

^ „ rock fragments, 

Fig. 7. . . 

In a mine, showing a thick vein of coal. grinding theiU 




ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



under its heavy bulk, and using them to scratch the surface of the 
land, as though a great piece of sandpaper had rubbed over this 




Fig. 8. 



An ideal section across an eroded valley in the coal measures. A, B, C, and D represent 
coal seams. Which of these seams can be mined by drift mining ? By shaft mining ? 

north country for years. The soil that eovered this region before 
the glacial period was pushed along with the ice, elevated rocks 
were worn down, and bed-rock was scratched and grooved. 




Fig. 9. 

Photograph in the terminal moraine near Ithaca, N.Y. Notice liow hummocky the surface 
is ; this is characteristic of moraines. 

In the southern part of Illinois the climate was warm enough to 
melt the ice as fast as it pushed south. Where the ice melted, it left 
the soil and the rocks it had been carrying, heaped up in long hill- 
like ridges called moraines. (See page 9, Complete Geography.) 



A GENERAL VIEW 7 

This great quantity of melting ice made more water than the rivers 
had been used to carrying, and the great flood thus caused cai-ried 
with it loads of soil and rock, which had been brought south by the 
ice. This soil was deposited along the bottoms of rivers, and when 
the rivers shrank to their former size, the silt was left, forming 
level flood-plains like those along the Mississippi. The ice sheet 
melted gradually, and as its front retreated toward the north, it 
left the surface over which it had rested covered with a mixed soil 
called chiff. This drift is composed of the fine clay soil the ice had 
made by grinding up the rocks it passed over, and it contains many 
large and small pieces of rock. This is the reason why the boulders 
found in Illinois are composed of granite, feldspar, and other sub- 
stances which form the bed-rock farther north. Land over which 
glaciers have passed is easily recognized by the presence of glacial 
drift, and by the scratches on the surface of the bed-rock. 

It seems that there must liave been at least two of these ice sheets 
which partly covered Illinois. The earlier is the one we have 
described as extending to the Ozark Hills. The last one covered 
only the northeastern part of the state (as indicated by the 
white portion of Fig. 9, Complete Geography). Where this later 
ice sheet stopped it left tlie most southern moraine ridge noticeable 
on the relief map of Illinois. This is called the "• Shelbyville 
Moraine." (See Fig. 2.) Retreating still farther north, it stopped 
and built up the broad middle ridge through which the Illinois River 
has cut. This is called the "Champaign Moraine." At the last stop 
of tlie ice sheet in this I'egion, the divide between Lake Michigan 
and the Illinois River Basin was deposited. This is called the 
"Valparaiso Moraine." Between these moraine ridges are broad 
shallow valleys, where less drift was deposited. These valleys made 
good reservoirs for collecting and holding the great quantities of 
water ; and where tliere was no sufficient outlet from them, shallow 
lakes or marshes were formed, into which fine silt soil washed and 
was deposited on the bottom, covering up the clay drift. When 
rivers cut through the moraines and drained these lakes, a fine rich 
silt soil was left, which makes the best farming land in the state. 
In many places throughout the state small lakes were left, sur- 
rounded by moraines in such a way that rivers did not drain them, 
and swamps resulted. These have since had to be drained artificially 
before farmers could make use of the soil. 

In all that part of the state once covered by the ice sheet the 



8 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



land is rolling, with gradually sloping hills and with shallow valleys 
between. The soil on top of these hills and in the very shallow 
valleys is usually drift clay which was left by the glacier, but which 
has now become darkened on tlie surface by decaying vegetation. 
The drift soil is easily worn away when the water runs over it, 
and for this reason the many rivers of tlie state have the general 
characteristic of wide valleys, with broad flood-plains of silt and 
sand soil along their courses. 

This is not true of those areas in the southern and northwestern 
parts of the state, where there is no drift. In these regions the bed- 



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liii M 


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Fig. 10. 
A river and its flood-plain in the glaciated region. (Thebes, Illinois.) 



rock comes near the surface, being covered only ])y a thin residual 
soil formed by the decay of rock underneath. Streams cut slowly 
through this limestone bed, and the valleys are narrow and deep, 
without flood-plains. Such valle3^s are called canyons, and are plen- 
tiful in the non-glaciated areas of the state. This wearing away of 
the rock makes rugged, precipitous hills, very dift'erent from the 
rolling prairie land of the rest of the state. 

These various soils and their elevation determine very largely 
what kinds of crops can be best grown in the difl^erent regions. 
Wheat grows best in the silt soil in the valleys, where it does not drv 
out too rapidly, or in the old lake and swamp bottoms left between 



A GENERAL VIEW 




Fig. 11. 

Characteristic river valley in the non-glaciated region near Rock 

Springs, Illinois. 



the moraines where 
silt was deposited 
when the hike cov- 
ered the land. 
Corn grows in such 
places too, but it 
grows well also on 
the higher clay soil 
where wheat rais- 
ing is not profita- 
ble. So much of 
the soil of Illinois 
is of the latter de- 
scription, that corn 
is the largest crop 
in the state, and 
Illinois ranks first among the corn -producing states. Grass grows 

well on tliese highlands and makes 
good hai/. Where corn and hay 
crops abound, cattle and hogs are 



always profitably raised. The 
value of the farm animals of Illi- 
nois is greater than that of any 
other state except Iowa. (See 
Figs. 228 and 229, Complete Geog- 
raphy.) 

Trees grow in tlie soil and cli- 
mate of Illinois wherever they are 
planted, yet the vast rolling prai- 
ries are almost destitute of trees. 
As a rule, trees are to be found only 
in the valleys bordering streams, 
but now and then a grove of old 
trees will be found in a protected 
place on the higher land. 

The growth of fruit is more 
dependent upon the climate than 
upon the soil. Fruit is usually 
raised upon slopes of land wliere 
good air and drainage can be had. 




Fig. 12. 
Map showing proportional distribution and 
regions best fitted for raising chief agri- 
cultural products. 



10 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



The north and south shapes from the Ozark Hills are "well fitted for 
fruit culture, and it is mainly due to social conditions that more fruit 
is not raised here. 

Climate. — Although the state is far from level, there are no sur- 
face elevations within its borders which are of sufficient height to 
have much effect upon its climate. Lake Michigan has a slightly 
moderating effect on the land bordering it. Most of the storms of 
the region, however, come from the west and are not greatly affected 
by the lake until after they pass Illinois. Those factors which 
largely determine the climate of Illinois are : (1) its distance in 
location north of the equator ; {'!) its location on the continent ; 
(3) its location in relation to the storm tracks. 

By referring to the United States map (Fig. 44, Complete Geography) 
find what parallel passes near the centre of the state. Where is the par- 
allel that marks half the distance between the equator and the north pole ? 
Is Illinois nearer the pole or the equator ? 




Fig. IX 
The usual storm tracks in the JJnited States and their relation to uortliern and southern 

Illinois. 

For a little time each year Illinois is more directly under the sun 
than the equator is at that time, and then it is usually warmer than 
the average temperature at the equator. (What time of the year is 
this ?) On the other hand, when our days are shortest it is colder 
than it is in summer as far north as man has gone. If a record of 
the temperature in the centre of the state were kept for every hour 
throughout the year, the average would be about 53 degrees, but the 



A GENERAL VIEW 11 

thermometer has registered as Jiigh as 106 degrees and as low as 22 
degrees below zero. However, the influence of the sun is not all that 
determines the climate of the state. Most of California is situated 
in the same latitude as Illinois, yet there it never gets as warm or as 
cold as it does here. This difference is due to the location of Illinois 
on the continent. Califoi'nia's storms come from over the Pacific 
Ocean and are tempered by that great body of water. Most of the 
storms that reach Illinois have come over the Rocky Mountains and 
have swept over the great plains. These broad, unprotected plains 
warm up and cool off" rapidly, so that winds blowing over them Avill 
be very hot at one time and very cold at another. This accounts in 
a great measure for the sudden changes in temperatui'e and weather in 
Illinois. You will see by the map, Fig. 13, that there are three great 
storm tracks in the United States which mark the directions in which 
weather changes travel. Notice tlie position which Illinois occupies 
in relation to these. Abotit 75 per cent of the storms which affect 
Illinois have followed the track from the northwest and are apt to 
bring very cold weather in winter and hot, dry winds in summer. 
The other storms from the southwest and south are always warming. 
There is hardly a state in the nation, outside of New England, which 
is subject to so many and such sudden changes of weather as 
Illinois. 

Variation within the State. — What parallel forms tlie northern boundary 
of Illinois? To what parallel does the southern extremity extend? One 
degree on the meridian corresponds to about 69 miles ; then how many 
miles long is Illinois from north to south ? 

Extending through so many miles of latitude, we would expect 
to find quite a difference existing between the northern and southern 
parts of the state. The variation is greater than it would otherwise 
be because the southern part of the state lies more frequently in the 
track of the southern storms, while the northern part receives for 
the most part only the variable storms from the northwest. As the 
result, the northern part has severe winters with sudden changes of 
temperature, as compared with the southern part. 

Between the tAvo sections a seasonal difference of about three 
weeks exists. The average difference in annual temperature be- 
tween the extreme north and the extreme south is about 11 
degrees. The last killing frost seldom comes later than April 1 in 
the southern section, while north of the 41st parallel it may be 

L. of C 



12 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



expected as late as April 23. It is these differences of temperature 
that make it possible to raise quantities of fruit in the southern part, 
while in the north full crops of fruit can be expected only in excep- 
tional years and in well-protected places. 

The warmer southern storms, which pass over southern Illinois, 
usually turn east before reaching the northern part of the state. (See 
Fig. 13.) As they advance toward the north, they cool, condense the 





Fig. 14. 
Average annual temperatures in Illinois. 



Fig. 15. 
Average annual rainfall in Illinois. 



moisture in the atmosphere, and cause rain. For this reason south- 
ern Illinois receives about 10 inches more rain during the year than 
the northern part of the state. The average rainfall for the Avhole 
state during one year is about 38 inches. The region ]ust west of 
the lake receives an increased rainfall, due to its nearness to the 
water body. The climate of the entire state is such as to make it 
exceedingly productive. There is no place which is arid. 



CHAPTER II 

PiivsK )(;i; APHicAL IIegions 



Lake Michigan Drainage Region. The Chicago Plain. — That little 
iiurtlieastern C(.>nier of the state which drains into Lake Michigan, 
and which is separated by the Valparaiso moraine from the great 



> '1 




J^ 




Fig. 16. 

The Chicago Plain as it exists to-day, 
showing tlie level land left by the 
retreat of the water. 




Fig. 17 

The Chicago Plain, showing the lake cov- 
ering the present site of Chicago. 



Mississippi Basin, was dependent almost entirely for its peculiar for- 
mation upon the effects of the ice sheet. 

After the ice sheet had remained for many years with its front 
piling up the drift that made the Valparaiso moraine, it melted 

13 



14 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

slowly away until its front rested across Lake Michigan. The water 
could not run from the lake north as it does now, for the northern 
outlet was filled by the ice sheet. The water rose over the land 
until it reached the top of the moraine, then it flowed over the lowest 
part in the moraine (640 feet above the sea level), and, rushing 
through this, tumbled down the other side, cutting a channel te the 
Illinois River, and then flowed in a great stream diagonally across 
the state to the Mississippi River. In this way it happened that for 
many years the Chicago plain, where Chicago now stands, was the 
level bottom of the lake. As the ice sheet melted back farther north, 
the water of the lake gradually fell, leaving the old bottom with 
sandy beaches, exposed as lowland. (See Figs. 16 and 17.) After 
the lake fell too low to flow through its old outlet, a small river took 
its place and ran from the top of the Valparaiso moraine across the 
state to help form the Illinois River. This is called the Ues Plaines 
River. This low, crescent-shaped Chicago plain then drained off into 
Lake Michigan through the Chicago River, one branch of which rose 
in the old channel of the former outlet of the lake. Thus there 
was left but a sliort distance, about a mile, of lowland between the 
Des Plaines and Chicago rivers, to separate the waters of Lake 
Michigan from its old outlet into the Illinois River. In 1900 this 
lowland was dug deeper, making it so low that Lake Michigan 
flowed into the Chicago River and out through its old outlet into the 
Des Plaines and Illinois rivers. So now Lake Michigan flows 
through its old outlet in an artificial channel, the Chicago Sanitary 
Canal. (See page 2.) 

All of the state, except this little northeast corner, lies in the 
great Mississippi Basin : that is, all of the other rivers of the state 
are naturally tributary to the Mississippi River. The Illinois River 
Basin is by far the largest of the state. It extends diagonally across 
the state from the Valparaiso moraine to the Mississippi River. Its 
average width from divide to divide is 120 miles. The southern slope 
is nearly twice as broad as the northern. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) The 
Illinois River really originates in the Des Plaines, Avhich rises just 
over the state line in Wisconsin, on the Valparaiso moraine. The 
Des Plaines flows through the Valparaiso moraine, at the old lake out- 
let, with falls and rapids, descending several feet in a few miles. 
It is joined by the Kankakee River, and continues flowing southwest, 
as the Illinois River, and cuts through the Champaign moraine. 

l!^orth of the Illinois River, Grass and Fox lakes, near the state 



16 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

line, are remains of the old glacial lakes in tliis region and are 
drained by the Fox River. The Illinois River Hows through a deep 
channel considerably wider than the present bed of the river. For 
long distances the channel is cut through the bed-rock, exposing 
ledges of limestone and the coal layers. A broad tlood-plain of 
fine silt soil forms the floor of tiie valley on each side of the stream. 
The divide between the Illinois Basin and the Rock River Basin 
on its north is the highest divide in the state, averaging 850 feet 
above the sea level. In one place where the Big Bureau River flows, 
the divide is very low, and the ^Mississippi may have at one time 
flowed through here into the Illinois River. This large stream left 
a rich soil covering the surface which makes the region around the 
liureau River the most productive in the state. It is through this 
region that the "Hennepin Canal,'' which connects the Illinois and 
Mississippi rivers, is being constructed. 

After the Illinois River flows through the Champaign moraine, 
its valley suddenly widens so that in places it is 18 miles wide. 
This large flood-plain, covered with its rich silt, makes rich farm 
land. The Sangamon River drains more Illinois land than any other 
branch of the Illinois River. The soil of this Sangamon region is 
glacial drift except where silt and sand have been deposited in the 
flood-plains. The last quarter of the Illinois River flows almost 
directly south, nearly parallel to the Mississippi River for 60 miles, 
before it finds a place to get around the limestone ridge which lies 
along the western border of the state. 

The Illinois River is navigable for three-fourths of its length, and 
its lower portion accommodates most Mississip))i boats. How much 
of the Illinois Basin has coal underlying it? (See Fig. 6.) 

The Rock River Basin may be said to include all that part of tlie 
state lying north of the Illinois River Basin, except a small portion 
of the land in the extreme northwest, which drains directly into the 
Mississippi by several short, swift-running streams. This is the 
liighest basin in the state. Near its northwestern corner on 
the Wisconsin state line, about 25 miles from the Mississippi, is 
Charles Mound, the higliest point in the state. It is 1275 feet 
above the sea, and 600 feet al)ove the Mississippi, directly west. 
This little triangular corner of tlie state is peculiar in that the ice 
sheet did not cover it at any time, so the old surface appears just 
as it did before the glacial period, exce})t tliat it has been weathered 
and worn down. The soil does not cover the surface deeply, and 



PHVSIOGRAPIIICAL UEGIONS 17 

of course is not drift, but residual soil, being formed by the decay 
of the limestone bed-rock. The rivers have worn deep canyon-like 
valleys through the rock with abrupt sides unlike the river valleys 
in the glaciated portion of the state. The hills are not rolling, but 
have abrupt rugged slopes. A good supply of lead and some zinc are 
found in this little corner, though much less is being mined there 
now than formerly. 

The Rock River has its origin in Wisconsin and flows almost 
directly south and enters Illinois in a deep valley which it has cut 
through the drift and bed-rock. As it enters the state, it is joined 
by the Pecatonica, which originates in the non-glaciated region 
of Wisconsin. From the highland along the upper part of its 
course, the Rock River falls very rapidly, and in the lower half of 
its course the basin is comparatively low. The i-iver valle}' is not 
well marked, the land sloping gradually back from the stream. Be- 
tween the Rock River and its main southern tributary, the Green 
River, the land is so free from slopes as to be poorly drained and 
much of it is occupied by swamps. This lower basin, as you would 
suspect, is well covered with flood-plain soil or silt, making a rich 
farming land where it is drained, while the soil of the upper basin 
in a few places in the extreme southern poi-tion is mainly cla}^ de- 
posited by the glacier. Except in a few places in tlie extreme 
southern portion, the bed-rock in this basin does not contain any 
coal. 

The Kaskaskia River Basin. — The Kaskaskia River rises in the 
central part of the soutliern slope of the Champaign moraine, but is 
kept from flowing into the Illinois River by a peninsula-like extension 
of the moraine. The Kaskaskia Basin is a long, narrow, triangular 
trough. On its northwest lies the Illinois Basin, and on its southwest, 
for nearly the whole distance, lies the Wabash Basin. The divide 
between the head of the Kaskaskia Basin and the Wabash Basin is 
formed by the Shelby ville moraine. The Kaskaskia River cuts through 
the western end of the Shelbyville moraine. South of this moraine 
the divide is low, and on its top the Big Muddy River rises and has 
cut a short basin of its own between the Kaskaskia and the Wabash 
basins. The Kaskaskia Basin has short slopes on its side drained by 
short tributaries running through broad valleys. The southern half 
of the basin is low, and most of the land is covered with a rich 
alluvial soil, which has been spread over the surface by old floods 
and by tlie continual washing down of the surface from the higher 



18 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

land surrounding. The higher hind, in the northern part of the 
basin, is drift chiy deposited by the ice sheet. On account of its 
long north and south extent and these differences in soil, the north 
portion produces nuiinly corn and hay, while wheat and fruit grow 
well in the southern part. The Kaskaskia Basin lies almost wholly 
within the coal region, aud a great deal of coal is mined. 

The Big Muddy River Basin. — The Big Muddy River Basin is a 
short, triangular basin drained by the Big Muddy River and its two 
tributaries, the Little Muddy River and the Beaucoup Creek. These 
rise in the divide which separates the basin from the Kaskaskia Basin 
on the west and the Wabash on the east. The character of the 
basin is almost identical with the southern portion of the Kaskaskia 
Basin, low, flat land, with few elevations except the limestone rim 
along the Mississippi and the high, almost mountainous, divide on its 
south, which turns the river away froui it into the Mississippi River. 
The southern part of this basin marks the southern extent of the ice 
sheet. In this basin the coal layers come very near the surface. 
The soil is mainly drift clay in the upper part of the basin and a line, 
pervious silt in its lower portion. That part of Illinois lying 
south of this basin, including the ridge of high hills, which here runs 
east and west across the state, is non-glaciated country. 

The Wabash River Basin. — Tlie Wabash River Basin includes 
most of the state of Indiana and nearly all of the eastern part of Illi- 
nois. This part of Illinois forms the western slope of the Wabash 
River, and is drained by three large tributaries of the Wabash. Tlie 
Big Vermilion River rises on the north side of the Champaign 
moraine, flows through this moraine, and joins the Wabash about 
40 miles north of where it begins to form the state boundary. This 
part of the slope is high, rolling prairie land with a well-drained 
clay soil. The Embarras River rises on the southern slope of the 
Champaign moraine near the origin of the Kaskaskia, but flows away 
from it, cutting through the Shelbyville moraine. It then flows 
rapidly south through lower, flatter country which resembles the 
country of the lower Kaskaskia Basin, and finally enters the low, 
broad valley of the Wabash. 

The soil drained by the upper portion of the Wabash River is 
thick glacial drift, except here and there where glacial lakes and 
swamps stood long enough to cause a covering of silt. In its lower 
basin, much of the land has the appearance of broad, flat, alluvial 
plains, composed of silt, with sand and gravel underneath. The 



PHYSIOGRAPHICAL BEGIONS 



19 



more southern portion of this Wabash sh)pe is drained by the Little 
Wabash River. It rises on the southern slope of the Shelbyville 
moraine and flows almost directly south, down the gradual slope to 
the lowlands, joining the Wabash just before it empties into the 
Ohio. The land drained by the Little Wabash River is low and 
resembles very closely the lower basins of the Kaskaskia and Big 
Muddy rivers. Coal is not found in any quantity on this slope of 
the Wabash, except in the lower part of the Little Wabash Basin. 
The land lying along the Wabash River and forming its valley is 
covered with silt and sand. The relief map shows that there is a 
stretch of very low land extending east and west across the state 
from the mouth of the J3ig Muddy to the mouth of the Wabash, but 
south of this lowland is the high ridge of the Ozark Hills which you 
have before observed. These 
mark the southern non-gla- 
ciated region. 

The Southern Non-glaciated 
Region. — In going from tliat 
northern portion of the state 
which has been so affected by 
the ice sheet into this non- 
glaciated region, cnie notices 
at once a great change in 
the soil and surface structure 
of the land. The high hills 
are but thinly covered with 
yellowish residual soil. The limestone crops out everywhere in 
great, worn, broken ledges of rock. The small streams, unmo- 
lested by the glacier, have cut deep canyons in the rock. The 
surface of the bed-rock where it is exposed is not smoothed off as 
in most of the state, but like that of the non-glaciated corner 
in the northwest, it has decayed into pieces and presents a rough, 
chipped surface. Because the ice sheet has not worn down the 
hills, they stand as abrupt peaks and not gradual rolling mounds 
as in the centre of the state. This line of hills averages about 
800 feet in height, rising abruptly from the lowlands on the north. 
The second highest point in the state is in this ridge of hills. It 
is 985 feet above the sea level and about 685 feet above the Mis- 
sissippi River, only a few miles directly west. From this high ridge 
the land slopes more gradually, in rough terraces, to the Ohio and 




Fig. 19. 

Characteristic view in the southern non- 
glaciated section of Illinois. 



20 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

Mississippi rivers on the south, until it reaches the lowest point in 
the state in its most southern extremity. This point is but 300 feet 
above tlie sea level, and so low and level that the Mississippi and 
Ohio rivers overflow it at high water. 

No large rivers drain this non-glaciated region, but many small 
inland swamps abound. The soil in the hilly portions is thin and 
unproductive, but into the more level lands a great deal of silt and 
sand has been waslied and made many pockets of rich farm laud. 
All along the Ohio River is a broad, flat flood-plain with the ricliest 
kind of soil, extending back into the state for an average of fifteen 
miles, much like the flood-plain which borders the Mississippi River 
most of the way along the western border of the state.- This region 
is especially adapted to fruit raising. 



CHAPTER III 



History of Illinois 



The Indian Period. — No man knows how long the Indians had 
iise^l the broad, rolling prairies of Illinois for their hunting grounds, 
and lived along the rivers in little villages of tepees. But when 
the first white men came into this part of the country, they found 




Fig. 20. 
Indian tribes in Illinois, 1700. 




Fig. 21. 
Indian tribes in Illinois, 17(iO. 



several strong tribes of Indians occupying the land. Each tribe 
claimed a river basin for its own, so that what is now Illinois was 
really divided up into several Indian states, and the divides between 
the river basins formed the irregular boundaries between these Indian 
states. 

21 



22 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

By the middle of the seventeenth century the English people 
had crowded the Indians out of the land east of the AUeghanies. 
The French had bviilt their towns all along the St. Lawrence and 
were beginning to start settlements around the Great Lakes. These 
early P\-ench settlers were getting rich, trading for furs with the 
Indians. They kept sending exploring parties farther and farther 
west to the new trading posts, and with- each exploring party went 
priests to make friends with the Indians and to convert them to 
Christianity. So it happened that in 1673 a young Frenchman 
named Joliet and a kindly old priest called Fatlier ]\Iarquette 
formed a party with five other men and started from the mission 
of St. Ignace opposite the island of Alackinac, in two canoes, to find 
a-great river of which the Indians had told them. Skirting the 
northern shores of Lake Michigan, tliey entered Green Bay ; follow- 
ing up the stream as far as they could go, they carried their canoes 
across the short portage and put them into tlie Wisconsin River. 
Floating down-stream, they discovered the upper Mississippi River. 
The first Indians they met, at the mouth of the Des Moines River, 
called themselves " Illini." 

To them the word "Illini" meant men, and they nsed it to dis- 
tinguish their more civil character from that of their enemies, whom 
they called beasts. This name clung to this tribe of Indians, and 
from it came the name of the state. 

Joliet and Marquette followed the Mississippi down nearly to its 
mouth and then paddled back up the stream to the Illinois River. 
They toiled up the stream until they came to the large village of 
the Kaskaskia Indians^ near Starved Rock, where Utica now stands. 
Thence they went up the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers to the 
divide, Avliere they had to carry their canoes over into the Chicago 
River. " It was in the month of September when they arrived at 
the place, then a broad waste of grass and prairie flowers channelled 
b}' two lazy streams that met from opposite directions and, united, 
flowed into or rather formed a connection with the lake. This was 
Chicago as nature made it and as these men, who were unques- 
tionably its first discoverers, saw it." 

In the fall Marquette attempted to return to the Kaskaskia vil- 
lage. He found the Chicago River frozen, and was taken ill and 
forced to build a cabin near the source of the south branch of the 

1 The Illinois nation was made up of five tribes, — Kaskaskia, Cochokias, Tamaroos, 
Peorias, and Metchigamis. 



HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 23 

river, where he reinuined over the winter. This cabin was the first 
structure on the Chicago phiin, and the first built by a white man in 
Illinois. 

Period of French Settlement. — La Salle was the next French- 
man to explore the territ(jry. He brought soldiers with him and 
built the first fort (1680) on the south end of Peoria Lake, just 
across the river from where Peoria now stands. La Salle called 
this Fort Or eve Coeur (Broken Heart) in memory of the hardships he 
and his men liad undergone. La Salle claimed all of this country 
for France, and appointed his friend Tonty to be its governor. 
Tonty was the first civilized nder of any kind in this region. 

French fur traders began to come into the country and form 
little settlements along the Illinois River. The French settled down 
among the Illinois Indians and made friends with them, but the 
other tribes of Indians often made war excursions into the territory, 
so it was necessary for the French to build forts wherever they set- 
tled in numbers. The summit of Starved Rock Avas a naturally 
protected place, and the French fortified it and named it Fort 
St. Louis. 

The Frenchmen were not all traders, but many of the men married 
the Indian women and settled down to till the soil. Little villasfes 
of French and Indians began to grow up along the Kaskaskia River. 
In 1700 a large village grew up around the post and mission near 
the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, on the Mississippi flood-plain. 
This place received the name of Kaskaskia and was the foundation 
of the present place of that name. In the 'same year a mission was 
founded at Cahokia, on the bluffs of the highlands overlooking the 
Mississippi Valley, just below the present site of East St. Louis. In 
1720 the French built F^ort Chartres, near the present site of Prairie 
du Rocher. At this time it was the strongest fort in North America. 
(Oidy a portion of the ruins now remain. The changing course of 
the Alississippi has washed away most of it.) 

As the F^rench poured into Illinois, these settlements grew and 
many new ones were built. One of the settlements grew rapidly 
into the largest French village of the region. This was the begin- 
ning of St. Louis. It was destined to be a great city on account of 
the advantageous position between the mouths of the two great traffic 
streams, the Missouri and the Ohio rivers. 

All of the French settlements were not made along the Mississippi 
River, however. Vincennes started as a little village across the 



24 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

Wabash River from what is now the most eastern extension of 
Illinois. Vincennes soon became a fortified place of great impor- 
tance to Illinois, as it commanded one of the important rontes into 
the Illinois country. 

Struggle for Ownership. — No boundary line had ever been deter- 
mined between the English possessions along the Atlantic coast and 
the French possessions along the Mississippi. As each began to 
extend its settlements, a collision arose. The strong Iroquois Indians 
in the East, aided by the English, now came ijito the Illinois country 
and made war against the Illinois Indians and the French. This 
resulted in the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1754 to 
1759. It was really a war between France and England. By the 
final treaty all the land east of the Mississippi and north of the 
31st parallel was ceded to England. At this time, however, not a 
single English settler lived in the region, while there were about 
2000 French. 

One of the first things the United States did, after the Declaration 
of Independence, was to send troops to force the surrender of the old 
French forts. Colonel George Rogers Clark, a Virginian, was the 
shrewd hero who captured these forts, and, still more, pacified the 
French settlers and their Indian friends, making them content with 
the American authority. About this time, Virginia, who claimed 
all land lying west to the Mississippi River, issued a proclamation 
organizing all of this I'egion into a county of Virginia, to be called 
" Illinois County." A governor was appointed and Kaskaskia was 
selected as the capital. 

Period of American Settlement. — The governor of Virginia offered 
inducements for American settlers to occupy land in her Illinois terri- 
tor3% and very soon the Americans began to fiock in. These early 
settlers were mainly from the Southern colonies. So the southern 
part of the state, especially the Kaskaskia Basin, was the first to be 
settled by Americans. The new settlers lived on their farms and 
refused to be friendly with the Indians, and many Indian battles 
and constant trouble resulted. 

In 1784 Virginia ceded her Illinois county to the United States, 
and all of what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wis- 
consin was organized into the Northwest Territory. All land so far 
purchased from the Indians was surveyed by Congress and offered 
for sale to settlers. Counties were laid off in the southern part of 
the state and justices of the peace appointed by the villagers. This 



HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 25 

was the beginning of the organized government. The rapid settle- 
ment led to rapid division of the territory into smaller parts. In 
1809 Indian Territory was divided, and Illinois, Wisconsin, and 
Peninsular Michigan were organized into Illinois Territory with its 
capital at Kaskaskia. 

War of 1812. — The English, wlio had never really withdrawn 
their troops from Fort Detroit, continually encouraged the Indians 
to attack the American settlers. The Indians made frequent excur- 
sions into Illinois. To prevent this, in 1803 Fort Dearborn was 
built on the south bank of the main branch of the Chicago River. 
During the War of 1812, the British in Canada made every possible 
use of the Indians. At the point where 18th Street, Chicago, now 
terminates at the lake, the American garrison Avhich had vacated 
Fort Dearborn were set upon by five times their number of Pottawat- 
omies. A horrible massacre followed, which resulted in the killing 
or the capture of the entire American force. The Indian and French 
village at Peoria was ruthlessly burned by the Americans. The 
whole state was threaded with little battles and skirmishes against 
the British aiul their tools the Indians, until after peace was declared 
in 1814, when the British entirely withdrew. 

Period of Statehood. — By 1818 the territory now included in 
Illinois claimed 45,000 inhabitants ; admittance to the Union was 
applied for and granted. At first it was provided that the state 
should only extend as far north as a line drawn west from the south- 
ern extremity of Lake Michigan. By consistent lobbying this was 
extended to its present boundary at 42 degrees 30 minutes, to 
include a strip extending 51 miles farther north. This strip of 
territory was destined to be the richest part of the state. A state 
organization was established, with a capital at Kaskaskia. In 1820 
it was decided to move the capital to Vandalia, on the Kaskaskia 
River. Nearly all of the inhabitants had come from the South and 
had settled in the southern part of the state. Many had brought 
their slaves with them, but the majority were people who had been 
crowded out of the South because they were financially unable to 
hold slaves and would not be dominated by the wealthie-r class. The 
sentiment seemed about evenly divided on the slavery question. 
The matter was settled in favor of freedom by a popular vote in 1822. 
The stand once taken was firmly held to. This is evidenced by the 
fact that Illinois gave the first candidate for the presidency to a 
national antislavery party, and later gave Abraham Lincoln and 



26 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

(J-rant to lead the antislaveiy cause to victory. The northern part of 
the state received its new settlers mainly from the states in the Kast, 
who came by way of the Lakes and made Chicago grow as a trading 
and junction point. This attracted people to the northern part of 
the state. Added to these attractions, in 1827 lead was discovered 
in easily accessible quantities along a small stream — Fever River — 
which flows through the hills of the northwestern part of the state. 
A great rush of people followed, from every direction, to mine this 
valuable metal. Tlie town of Galena, with many little outlying 
settlements, sprang into existence. 

Before the War of 1812 the fear of Indians and the ignorance 
of the country caused the settlers to come to the new land almost 
entirely by water, but the partial settlement of the state and the 
Indian defeats during the war had removed these ol)jections. The 
emigrants now sought roads on land. These early emigrant roads 
determined the later settlement of the state to a large extent. They 
were not roads in the sense we use the word to-day, but Vi\t\\ev trails, 
whose general direction led to an objective point. These emigrants 
travelled in great covered wagons. Usually several families would 
club together and make up a party with a number of wagons and a 
herd of farm animals. As they hurried across the country, they 
naturally chose to travel along the highest ridges of land, where 
they could keep a watch over the surrounding country for attacking 
parties of Indians; tlien, too, the high ground was better drained 
and made travelling easier. For the most jjart, the streams had to 
be forded, and roads generally led across places where the streams 
broadened out into shallow jilaces. Some of the rivers were too 
large to ford, and it was necessary to ferry across. A route once 
used formed the trail Avhich the next party naturally followed in 
going the same direction, and so a few well-worn roads were estab- 
lished, running through the state, leading to a few popular trading- 
posts, or into some favorable region Avhich was opening up for 
settlement. 

In the southern part of the state, most of the roads led from the 
Ohio River into the Kaskaskia Basin, wliich was at this time (1820- 
1830) the most densely populated 2:)art of the state. From this 
region and throughout the centre of the state, tlie roads led north 
into the new country, which was becoming rapidly settled either 
toward Chicago in one corner, or Galena in the other. 

In the northern part of the state, the roads all ran east and west, 



HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 27 

leading from Chicago toward the Mississippi or into the lead-minino- 
district about Galena. Along these roads new settlements sprang 
up, which were destined to become the largest cities in Illinois. 
Wherever two or three roads, crossing, made an advantageous point 
for a trading-post, some pioneer would stop, build a cabin and stock- 
ade, cultivate the land, and start a small supply store. Others would 
be attracted by the advantages which he had created and settle near 
by. Thus many Illinois towns started. 

Wherever there was a ford over the stream the emigrants often 
had to camp to await a time when the water should be low enough 
to permit them to cross in safety. Sucli places became centres for 
settlement. Sometimes a grove that sheltered a fresh spriiig would 
prove an attractive place, and would soon groAV into a settlement. 
The roads, which ran north and south, always followed one of three 
routes : (1) along the divide between the river basins, where the 
travellers would hava the advantage of the highroad ; (2) along the 
river valleys, which had been well settled previously, and where 
the traveller might depend upon the protection of the inhabitants; 
or (3) following along the crest of one of the moraines. 

Many of the early settlers were among the most industrious 
and liardiest people from the old Eastern states. They were used 
to surmounting difficulties, and no task seemed too great for their 
undertaking. In 1837 they determined upon a policy of state 
improvements, and it is little wonder tliat they overdid it. Every 
county attempted to get something out of the state coffers. Great 
extravagance ensued, which threw the state under a heavy debt from 
which it did not recover for over fifty years. The capital was re- 
moved from Vandalia to Springfield. From the time of Joliet to the 
present it has been a dream to have the waters of Lake Michigan 
conducted through the low divide into the Illinois River, to make 
a great canal which would allow the largest ships to pass from the 
Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. After ten years of slow progress the 
Illinois-Michigan Canal was opened in 1848. As completed, it only 
allowed small canal-boats to ply between La Salle and Chicago, but 
this gave a great impetus to trade throughout that part of the state, 
and with the increased trade which was beginning to come by the 
lake did much to develop Chicago and the cities along the route of 
the canal. 

In 1848 the first locomotive steamed out of Chicago, on the Galena 
and Chicago Union Railway. The Illinois Central, the next line to 



28 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



be successfully completed, followed some old roads in its southern 
extension diagonally across the state. In 1852 Chicago was con- 
nected with the East by rail, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
and the Micliigan Central Railroads both being completed in the 
same year. 

Most of the railroads and especially the earlier ones were built 
along t]ie old wagon roads. This added greatly to the advantage of 

those old towns which had been 
built along the old wagon roads. 
New places sprang up along these 
railroads, and many places in Illi- 
nois owe their origin to a railroad 
crossing or junction. To-day the 
railroad junctions and the places 
having the largest populations in 
the main coincide. In following 
these old wagon roads the railroads 
have simply utilized the natural 
lines of travel ; in the southern part 
of the state all of the main lines 
tend north. In the centre of the 
state the trunk lines run diagonally 
across the state with a north and 
south trend. In the northern part 
of the state the roads run east and 
west. 

Although Illinois has a greater 
number of miles of railway than 
any other state, there are three 
counties which have none : Cal- 
houn, Hardin, and Pope. This is 
not due so much to the lack of 
progress in these regions as it is to the fact that each is abundantly 
supplied for much of its boundary with navigable streams. Each 
of these counties has a surface of rocky hills which would make 
railway construction very expensive. (Locate these three counties 
on the relief map.) 

Besides these transportation lines, the Illinois-Mississippi Canal 
is being constructed to run from Hennepin in the Illinois River over 
the low place in the divide between it and the Rock River. The 




Fig. 22. 

Density of population. 

Each dot rejiresents the location of 1000 people. 

"Whole population 4,821,550 

Average to square mile .... 86 

Average to square mile, Cook County . 2066 

Average to square mile, Putnam County 27 



HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 29 

dream of an open ship canal from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi 
River is still to be realized. The construction of the Chicago Sanitary 
and Ship Canal to Lockport is only one step farther toward this 
realization. It seems probable that in the near future such a canal 
will be completed and will provide not only a ship route, but an 
immense water power which will rival that at Niagara. 



CHAPTER IV 
Cities and Counties by Physiographical Regions 

The Chicago Plain. — It has already been seen that the favorite 
route of the Indians and the early explorers and settlers, when they 
entered the Illinois countr}-, was by way of Lake Michigan, up the 
Chicago River, and then over the narrow portage into the Ues Plaines 
and Illinois rivers. 

Thus the Chicago plain formed the entrance to the shortest and 
most travelled route from the Great Lake Basin to the Mississippi 
Basin. 

The Chicago plain was never a favorite place for an Indian vil- 
lage. Any band of Indians that attempted to settle here would be 
continually harassed by the coming and going of other Indians. 
For this reason, although for a time it made a splendid j)lace for a 
hardy trader, it was not a safe place for white men to settle. Less 
dangerous places farther along the route down the Illinois River were 
settled into struggling villages by the French before Chicago was 
even a permanent settlement. It had been for 3'ears a transient 
camping place for Indians and French, when in 1785 the first build- 
ing was erected with a view to permanent occupation. This was an 
unsubstantial fort built by Durontaye, and did not continue as a 
protection long enough to attract settlers around it. 

At this time the level plain was by no means all prairie. Trees 
lined the river banks. Most of the land between the north branch 
and the lake was covered witli small trees, and trees grew along the 
south shore of the lake. These furnished fuel and logs for the 
cabins of the early settlers. The land was mostly low, and except 
where these patches of trees gi-ew, it was flat prairie, covered with 
grass and prairie plants. Along the river banks and in the marshy 
places the wild onion grew in great abundance, on account of which 
the Indians named the river "• Chi-Kang-Ong," meaning place of 
skunk weed or wild onion. Marquette wrote the name " Checangon," 
and from this has come the present name " Chicago." 

In 1803 the government built Fort Dearborn on a high knoll on 

30 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHIC AL REGIONS 31 

the south side of the river just where its niaiu branch bent to join 
the hike at what is now the foot of Rush Street. Protection thus 
insured, families might settle in comparative safety. John Kinzie, 
the " Father of Chicago," built the first real residence, directly across 
the river from the fort. Mr. Kinzie settled as a trader and soon 
established outlying posts which were contributary to Chicago, along 
the Illinois River, the Rock River, and the Milwaukee. River. The 
furs thus collected were sent north by the lake and sold at Fort Mack- 
inac to be shipped east. Thus Chicago early became the distributary 
point between the East and the West. 

At the time of the Indian massacre in 1812 (see page 25), five 
homes constituted the settlement at Fort Dearborn. A Frenchman 
named Ouilmette soon moved witli his family out of the little settle- 
ment to a piece of land he had purchased on the north shore of the 
lake. When it grew to a settlement, it took the name of its first 
settler, Wilmette. 

The massacre of 1812 checked the growth of the Fort Dearborn 
settlement, but after the fort was rebuilt in 1816 a slow growth 
began which resulted in the building of a number of log and slab 
houses along the river. The fertile soil induced farming in 
connection with the fur trading. 

When the legislature decided upon building the Illinois-Michigan 
Canal (see page 27), it empowered the canal commissioners to " locate 
the canal, to lay out towns, to sell lots, and to apply the proceeds to 
the construction of the canal." This act was responsible for the first 
survey of the land on which Chicago is now located. The town 
of Chicago, with about 150 inhabitants, was laid out; it included 
the region between Madison and Kinzie, and State and Des Plaines 
streets. In 1833 it was incorporated as a town. 

Previous to the laying out of the town there had been no harbor 
into which large ships could enter. It was necessary for them to 
anchor off the shore in the lake and unload in small boats, which 
could pass through the shallow mouth of the riVer. The river 
flowed into the lake at the foot of Madison Street, and the lake had 
piled up a sand-bar almost across the mouth. In 1883 the Illinois- 
Michigan Canal was planned to be a great ship route from Lake 
Michigan to the Illinois River. It was necessary then to deepen the 
mouth of the Chicago River. This Congress did, and built a long 
pier on the north side of the entrance, thus straightening the river 
and making the present harbor entrance. 



32 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

In spite of the numerous hindrances Chicago at once began its 
phenomenal growth. Large tracts of land were put up for sale by 
the government at auction. Emigrants flocked into the little town 
by boat, horse, and " prairie schooners " to take advantage of the 
land purchase. Rude log and slab hnts were built all along Water 
street and in a scattered manner began to dot the prairie all over 
town. Many newcomers were forced to sleep out of doors or live 
in tents. The population increased from 150 in 1833 to 2000 in 
1834. This was the first boom. The importance of the location 
was beginning to dawn upon people, and every man bought all the 
land he could afford, and scrambled for more. Rude improvements 
naturally followed. County roads had been laid out before this 
along what are now Ogden and Archer avenues. All of the streets 
were low and muddy. Logs and slabs were laid down crosswise on 
the muddy surface to form a sort of pavement. A log bridge was 
built across the north branch of the river at Kinzie Street, and 
another across the south branch at Randolph Street. A public ferry 
had been in operation at the foot of Dearborn Street, and in 1831 
this was replaced by a rude lumber drawbridge. 

In 1837 Chicago was organized as a city of 4170 inhabitants. 
It had become a distributing point of great importance to the new 
West. Goods were sent from New York by the Erie Canal and the 
Great Lakes, and ships returned loaded with furs, grain, and lumber. 
The great need was of some more serviceable way of bringing the 
products from the interior into the city for shipment. Country 
turnpikes had been built in every direction, but they did not reach 
far enough, and the hauling was too difficult. This pressure was 
greatly relieved when the Illinois-iSIichigan Canal was opened in 
1848. The first year's traffic through it was enormous for that day. 
Corn, wheat, fruit, and farm produce of every kind came from the 
centre of the state and thence down the Chicago River. Water 
Street, which bordered tlie river, became a busy place and the chief 
street in the town. The river was filled with every sort of craft, 
bringing in farm produce. In this year the first car of wheat came 
into Chicago by rail, over the Galena and Union Railroad (now part 
of the Chicago and Northwestern), which had just been completed, 
from the present site of Wells Street depot to the Des Plaines River. 
So great an increase of traffic made it necessary to have good streets 
in the city. In order to get them, the level of the streets all over the 
city had to be raised from eight to fourteen feet. Pavements came 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 33 

next, and with these more permanent bridges. In 1869 the Wash- 
ington Street tunnel, under the south branch of the river, was opened 
to foot-passengers. 

After the tirst railroad had entered Chicago others came in rapidly, 
and in 1852 wluit is now the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
completed the lirst line of road connecting Chicago with the East. 
This opened up a new feature. All roads that would run into the 
northwest from the east must run south of the lake through Chicago. 
Thus Chicago was not only the centre of north and south water 
traffic, but the natural centre for all east and west land traffic. The 
effect of this realization was anotlier boom. Railroads were built 
in rapid succession into and out from Chicago in every direction. 
Manufactories of all kinds began to be built to make use of the raw 
materials that were flowing in from all sides. By 1870 Chicago liad 
developed into a great commercial centre, having grown almost 
equally along every commercial line. It was a central point for 
travellers, a railroad centre and shipping port, a wholesale and 
distributing point, a storage and commission centre, and rajndly 
becoming a great manufacturing centre with 300,000 inhabitants. 
It included 36 square miles of territory. 

In October, 1871, the great Chicago fire almost wiped out this 
prosperous city, burning over 2200 acres, almost solidly built up 
with 15,768 buildings and 175 manufacturing plants. 

Chicago of the Present. — From a town of 150 inhabitants and 
covering six square miles of territory, Chicago has grown in two- 
thirds of a centur}^ to be the sixth city in tlie world, with 1,698,575 
inhabitants (census of 1900) and covering 196 square miles of 
closely occupied territory: The city occupies one-hfth of Cook 
County. (Careful estimates of 1902 credited Chicago with 2,000,000 
inhabitants.) 

Mcmufacture and Commerce, Portion. — The location of Chicago, 
where it must of necessity have great advantages of transportation, 
has made it the great commercial lieart of the nation. From all of 
the fertile country between the Rockies and the Appalachians, raw 
products are shipped to Chicago by rail and boat. These products 
then go througli one of two processes : they are either stored in 
great collecting concerns of Chicago, resold and shipped out in large 
quantities ; or are here manufactured into new products and dis- 
tributed over the world. Chicago has become the greatest collecting 
and distributing centre of the United States for lumber, grain, and 



34 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



live stock, and the greatest manufacturing centre for machinery, cars, 
furniture, and prepared meats. 

As the railroads made their way into Cliicago tliey aimed to con- 
nect with the commerce in the harbor and so built tlieir main lines or 
branches to the river. Hence the river is tlie centre of manufactur- 
ing, storage, and shipping, and presents a busy scene day and night. 
Great lake freighters, coal and lumber barges, many larger and smaller 
schooners, passenger steamers, and innumerable smaller craft contin- 
ually fill the stream. In 1899 more boats arrived in and cleared the 
Chicago harbor than any other harbor in the United States. In actual 
tonnage of vessels Chicago was graded as fourth in the world. Only 
London, New York, and Hamburg respectively lead Chicago in this 
respect. It handled three times the boat freight of Boston and almost 




Fig. U3. 
Grain elevcators along the Chicago River. 



four times that of Philadelphia. Since 1900 Chicago has been greatly 
reduced in importance as a lake port. This is due to the increased size 
of lake boats, which find the Chicago Riv6r harbor too narrow where 
railroads and merchants have filled in and built into the river. The old 
tunnels under the river are too near the surface to allow the great ships 
to pass over them. The action of Congress, in 1901, compelling the 
removal or lowering of the tunnels, was taken with a view to restoring 
this lost shipping to Chicago. The South Chicago harbor and the 
Calumet River have increased in importance as the Chicago River har- 
bor has decreased. The lower harbor of the Chicago River is lined 
with docks for the unloading of fruit, vegetables, flour, fish, and other 
produce for distributing through the city. Farther up the river from 
this busy portion are the huge elevators for the storage and transfer 
of grain on its way to the eastern and foreign markets. Sixty-seven 
million bushels of grain can be stored in the Chicago elevators at 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHIC AL REGIONS 35 

one time. Great lumber-yards cover many square miles along the 
north and south branches of the river. Most of this lumber comes to 
Chicago by boat from the north. It is received as rough timber and 




Fig. 24. 
Lumber-yards along the Chicago River. 

is manufactured into furniture and various forms of building lumber, 
doors, cases, mouldings, etc., and is shipped out by rail. 

Bordering the river nearly its whole distance, with river docks 
on one side and freight tracks on the other, are shops, foundries, 
mills, and manufactories of every description. Here various raw 
products are collected from as many different directions and man- 




FiG. 25. 
The stock-yards, Chicago. 

ufactured into commercial products, ready for distribution into 
homes, farms, and other factories. The mammoth stock-yards and 
packing-house district is located near the south branch of the river, 
where it has every advantage of transportation facilities. Thousands 
of hogs, cattle, and sheep are shipped daily from the Western plains 



36 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



and the corn belt of the Mississippi Basin to the Chicago stock-yards. 
In the great packing-houses the animals are slaughtered and the 
fresh meat is shipped in refrigerator cars to all parts of the United 
States. Most of the meat, however, is preserved by packing, smok- 
ing, drying, salting, and other processes, and a large amount of this 
is sent to foreign countries. A great number of manufacturing 




Unloading ore from lake vessels at NorUi Slip of the Illinois Steel Company, South Chicago. 

plants have grown up around the packing-houses. These make 
use of the by-products — hides, horns, bones, and refuse. All of 
the stock shipped to the stock-yards is not slaughtered, but much of 
it is resold. The Chicago stock-yards cover a square mile of land 
and are the largest and most important in the world. Each year the 




Fig. 27. 

Rail-mill, steel-mill, blast furnaces, and railroad yard of Illinois Steel Company, 

South Chicago. 

Chicago stock-yards receive about nine million hogs, three million 
cattle, and three and one-half million sheep. 

The branching river, with its long area for dockage extending 
into the heart of the city in every direction, is the central manufac- 
turing district, smoky, noisy ; and to the untrained it seems always 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 37 



unkempt and in a perfect hubbub of disorder, but to one who knows, 
it appears as well-organized progress, putting forth every energy to 
meet the demands of the world. The region along the Calumet 
River is another busy district. Here are centred the iron and 
steel industries. The ore is brought in great barges from the mines 
of nortjiern Michigan and Minnesota, and the vast quantities of coal 
which are necessary for refining and working it are brought by rail 
from the coal-fi'^lds 
of Illinois or by 
boat from Penn- 
sylvania. Around 
these large foun- 
dries have gath- 
ered many iron- 
working industries 
for the manufac- 
turing of rails, 
car-wheels, tools, 
nails, tacks, and 
all kinds of iron 
implements, until 
this has become 
the third centre of 
importance in the 
United States for 
such manufacture. 
Manufacturing 
is not confined en- 
tirely to these river 
districts, but those 
industries which are not dependent upon the lake transportation 
have selected in many parts of the city regions accessible to rail- 
roads. As will be seen on the map, many roads enter Chicago by 
following the lake shore to the south of the city. These lead to 
many elevators, coal-yards, and manufacturing concerns, chiefly out 
beyond the main residence portion of the city. At Pullman are the 
greatest car-manufacturing works in the world. Here the easily 
accessible wood and iron products are made over into cars of every 
description, from street cars to those palaces on wheels which serve 
as private cars for the European royalty. 




Fig. 28. 



38 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



The Wholesale, Retail, and Office Portion. — The growth of the 
business portion early crowded the residences away from the river and 
occupied the three square miles lying south of the main branch of 
the river with great buildings which are filled with stores in the 
lower floors and offices in the upper stories. Many of the higher 

buildings extend from, six to 
twent3^-two stories above the 
street. Such tall buildings 
are called "sky-scrapers," and 
more of them are found in 
CUiicago than in any other 
city. From this central busi- 
ness portion, less important 
Ijusiness streets radiate for 
miles into each side of the 
city, north, south, and west. 
These streets are the main 
thoroughfares leading from 
the residence portions to the 
" down-town " portion and 
are occupied by the more 
important street-car lines. 

It is the natural tendency 
for business houses engaged 
in the same line of business 
to collect in the same district 
of the city, and the choice of location is usually dependent upon the 
convenience of transportation and sale facilities. F'or example, great 
quantities of fruit, vegetables, and fish come into tlie city by boat from 
the shore of Michigan, and formerly quantities of poultry and vegeta- 
bles came down the river by small boats. The wholesale market for 
such things has naturally grown up along the river. In the morning 
South Water Street presents a scene of great confusion. The nar- 
row street is crowded with delivery wagons getting loads of fruit, 
vegetables, and poultry for the daj^'s sales in the retail markets. 
The sidewalks are crowded full of crates, baskets, and sacks of such 
produce. Another vegetable market, of a different sort, is on the 
West Side, Jefferson Street, in a district most convenient for the 
wagons loaded with small vegetables, which during the night drive 
in from the market gardens. Here the wagons stand during the 




A sky-scraper - 



Fig. 29. 
the Masouic Temple, Chicago. 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHY8I0GEAPHICAL REGIONS 39 




forenoon until their stock is sold out. The larger retail stores occupy 
that portion of the city which is most convenient for the public to 
reach by means of the car lines. Wabash, State, Clark, and Dear- 
born streets are especially fitted for this. On State Street are located 
the large department stores, which are, in reality, combinations of 
many stores in 
one, and in 
which every ar- 
ticle of use in 
the home can 
be procured. 
One of these 
stores will em- 
ploy as many 
as 2000 clerks. 
La Salle Street 
is the special 
home of banks 
and insurance 

Wholesale Iruit and vegetable market, South Water Street, 
companies. Chicago. 

Here is located 

also the Board of Trade, in the pits of which nearly one-third of 

the farm crops of the United States are exchanged. 

The Residence Portions surround the business portion on the three 
sides of the city — north, west, and south sides. These three residence 
districts are separated by the manufacturing districts which extend 
along the river between them. All three are very similar in their 
organization and each is characterized by the distinctive districts 
peculiar to a large city. 

In every great city there is a large portion of the population 
which is pressed into comparatively small areas and obliged to live 
crowded together. This is because of the immense amount of 
space required for business purposes and because it is necessary for 
many people to live in the neighborhoods in which they are employed. 
In Chicago the most densely populated sections are in the manu- 
facturing and shipping districts that line the river and the railroads. 
Here at1:he apex and along the sides of the triangle of each side of 
the city the ground is so much in demand that the houses are separa- 
ted only by little paths, and there is no room for trees or lawns. As 
many as from 100 to 300 people live on a single acre in these crowded 



40 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

districts. Shops line the main streets, and above them the numerous 
apartments are closely occupied by families. Many of the people in 
these sections of the city are employed in the great factories, work- 
shops, and other industrial establishments, while some find occupa- 
tion in the various other lines of work which are constantly being 
carried on in Chicago. In some localities nearly the entire popula- 
tion is composed of foreigners, many of whom have not yet become 
accustomed to American ways of living ; in these sections English is 
often spoken but very little. Extending from these congested dis- 
tricts out f artlier from the centre of the city and farther from the man- 
ufacturing and shipping sections, the population becomes gradually 
less dense and the buildings are less crowded. One effect of the scar- 
city of land is to prevent thousands of families from living in separate 
houses. A great number of "flats" are built to accommodate many 
families in the little space which the city affords. The boulevards 
and parks form almost a continuous circuit of the city from the old 
World's Fair ground, now part of Jackson Park, on the south side, 
through Douglas and Garfield parks on the west side, and including 
Lincoln Park and the Lake Shore Drive on tlie north side. These 
form a most wonderful system of well-cultivated open spaces, and 
broad, well-paved and parked streets, making over 2000 acres of 
breathing space. The parks are fitted with outdoor gj'mnasia, nata- 
toria, boating lagoons, botanical and zoological gardens, for places of 
amusement and instruction. Around this park system and stretch- 
ing out beyond it are splendid residence districts. Here the 
residences are for the most part supplied with lawns, and the four 
to eight miles into the business portion are quickly travelled on the 
elevated roads and surface car lines. 

The Suhurhs. — Many of the business men of Chicago prefer to 
live outside the city limits, in towns where better accommodations 
for family comfort are possible. This desire has given life to many 
large and beautiful suburbs along the various lines of railroads run- 
ning out of Chicago. In the morning and evening hours, thousands 
of people, who have come in to business from their homes, situated 
from eight to forty miles from the city, stream out and in from the 
suburban train stations. Such places are Evanston and the line of 
beautiful towns situated along the shore of the lake north of the 
city. Oak Park, Riverside, and La Grange are the larger suburbs 
on the west side. Beyond the city to the south the land is com- 
paratively low and the suburban towns that have sprung up there 
are not so numerous or so large as those on the north and west. 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSlOCRAPniCAL REGIONS 41 

The market gardens occupy much of the space between the 
suburbs. The rich, loamy soil is utilized for growing small vegeta- 
bles of every variety for city consumption. 

Educational institutions have kept pace with the rapid growth 
of Chicago, and the last few years have seen the development of one 
of the greatest universities in the world, the University of Chicago. 
Northwestern University at Evanston and Lake Forest University 
at Lake Forest are older institutions of the same class. Each of 
these has extensive professional schools of medicine, law, dentistry, 
etc., in the city. The University of Illinois also has its medical 
school in Chicago. Many smaller but important schools and colleges 
of a private character are scattered through the city. The Art Insti- 
tute on the lake front affords a splendid gallery and school of art. 
Private and public museums, the most important of which is the 
Field Columbian Museum, are assuming importance. Chicago's very 
complete public-school system includes 234 schoolhouses for grade 
schools, 15 high and commercial schools, one home school for 
delinquents, and one normal school. 

Waukegan^ (9426) is the oldest and most important of the places 
located along the lake, north of Chicago. Waukegan is more favor- 
ably located than most of its neighboring towns, having a good 
harbor where lake craft can land. A belt-line railroad runs from 
Waukegan around Chicago, crossing all of the important roads cen- 
tring in Chicago, thus giving shipping advantages almost as great as 
those of Chicago. These facts have made it one of the important 
manufacturing cities of the state. Its chief industries are steel and 
wire manufacture and sugar refining. It is the county seat o£ Lake 
County and has nearly doubled in population in the last ten years. 



The Illinois River Basin 

The Indian villages and early settlements along the Illinois River 
probably had some influence in determining the location of the present 
cities, but their importance is largely due to the abundance of natural 
resources which the basin affords in farm products and coal. The water- 
power furnished by the rivers, where they have cut through the moraines 
or run over ledges of bed-rock, has had much to do with the development 
of manufactures. Transportation along the streams was easy from the 

1 The numbers after the names of the cities indicate the populations according to 
the census of 1900. 



42 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 




Fig. 31. 
Limestone quarry and lime kilns along the Des Plaines River. 



first, and the early 
development of the 
railroads and ca- 
nals was an added 
stimulant to trade 
and production. 

The Des Plaines 
in its lower course 
has cut through 
solid limestone and 
left great ledges 
exposed, which are 
easily accessible 
and have led to an 
important industry 
in quarrying limestone for building purposes. Much of the limestone is 
crushed into bits and used for macadamizing roads and as ballast for rail- 
roads. All along the old lake outlet, from Summit to Joliet, and especially 
at Lemont, stone quarries are numerous, and large ovens are continually 
burning and making lime from th-? limestone, 

Joliet (29,353) is situated on the Des Plaines River, where the 
stream .flows through a narrow channel and by a series of rapids 
naturally falls about 30 feet in five miles. The water-power deter- 
mined it as a manufacturing centre, and the close proximity to coal 

has served to em- 

phasize this fea- 
ture of Joliet. 
The largest In- 
dus t r y is the 
manufacture of 
steel and iron 
into hardware 
commodities and 
implements. The 
various industries 
associated with 
the manufacture 
of lumber into 
building mate- 
rials and cabinets is important. Joliet ranks as the fourth city in 
the state in value and importance of manufactures. These features 
have made it an attractive point for railroads. It is a junction point 




Fig. 32. 
State Penitentiary, Joliet. 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHIC AL REGIONS 43 

for four important roads. An electric line connects Joliet directly 
with Chicago. Many Chicago business men reside in Joliet. The 
great Illinois State Penitentiary is located here. Joliet is the county 
seat of Will County. 

Kankakee (13,595) is the county seat of one of the youngest 
counties in the state. The land of tliis county, being largely low and 
marshy, was not attractive to the early settler, but now the value 
of this rich soil is understood, and by draining the land the very 
best farm land is made. The broad level lands are divided into 
large farms producing abundant amounts of hay and oats, and conse- 
quently fattening many cattle. Kankakee is important in being the 
location of the Eastern Hospital for the Insane, the largest of the 
seven state insane asylums. Kankakee's principal industries are 
the manufacture of tile and brick and the quarrying of limestone. 

Morris (4273), the county seat of Grundy County, is one of the 
places wliose growth was particularly stimulated by the Illinois- 
Michigan Canal. It became a transportation centre for grain from 
the rich country surrounding. Its principal industries are still the 
shipping of farm produce, the manufacture of flour, brick, and tile, 
and the mining of coal. The value of its products is large compared 
with its small population. 

The bed of the Fox River lies between the Valparaiso and Cham- 
paign moraines, nnming almost parallel with the Des Plaiues. It is a 
good-sized stream, draining the beautiful Fox and Grass lakes, which 
have become popular summer haunts. From this highland in the north 
it flows very rapidly with many rapids into the lower land, where it joins 
the Illinois River. Its rapid fall has made it a good manufacturing stream, 
giving splendid water-power where dams have been built across its course. 

The numerous old roads which ran west and northwest from Chicago 
forded the Fox River at these rapids, and at these fords settlements grew. 
Later, railroads were built over these old roads, dams were built at the 
rapids, and the settlements grew into prosperous manufacturing and ship- 
ping centres, although no coal is mined in this part of the state. Such 
was the origin of Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, and Aurora, all of 
them originating between 1833 and 1835, when Chicago and this northern 
part of the state was booming. All of these cities are in Kane County, 
which is especially noted as a stock-raising and dairy region. Which 
place is the county seat ? All these places, lying within 40 miles of 
Chicago, are to a large extent resident places for Chicago business men. 

Aurora (24,147) is the largest of these cities. It is situated with 
residence portions on the bluffs along both sides of the river, utiliz- 



44 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 




Fig. 33. 
Waterworks, Aurora. 



ing the lower level ground at the edge of the river for the business 
and manufacturing districts. One of the largest stove-manu- 
facturing foun- 
dries in the world 
is located here. 
The wheel-scraper 
works manufac- 
ture grading and 
road machiinery 
and distribute it 
all over the new 
lands of the West. 
A corset factory 
employs a large 
number of men 
and women. The 
great C. B. and 
Q. Railroad shops employ more men than any other concern in 
Aurora, repairing and building rolling stock for the road. 

Elgin (22,433), 20 miles up the river from Aurora, is especially 
important as containing the largest watch factory in the world. 
It employs many highly skilled mechanics and workmen and pro- 
duces watches equal to those produced anywhere. Clocks and watch 
cases are also manufactured. Elgin is the most important dairy 
centre of Illinois, 
m a n u f a c t u r i n g 
butter, condensed 
milk, and cheese. 
The Northern Hos- 
pital for the In- 
sane is at Elgin. 

St. Charles 
(2675) is also a 
dairy centre of 
importance, and 
with its neighbor- 
ing places supplies 
much of the milk 

consumed daily in Chicago. Geneva (2446) and Batavia (3871) are 
beautiful places situated on high bluffs along the river. The State 




Ekiii. 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 45 

Home for Juvenile Female Offenders is located at Geneva. Ottawa 
(10,588) is the county seat of the large county of La Salle, which 
ranks third in the state in number of residents and second in number 
of square miles. 

It was along this portion of the river, where it flows through La Salle 
Count}' , that the largest and most prosperous Indian villages were situated 
in the early days. (See page 23.) The ease of river transportation here, 
which had made it a valuable region for the Indians, also made it easily 
accessible to the whites. The rich soil of the broad valley and the level, 
well-drained land surrounding, constituted an attraction which caused this 
region to be the first in northern Illinois Avhich was permanently settled. 
These same characteristics make it to-day a rich agricultural region with 
prosperous shipping and manufacturing centres along the river. 

The Fox Kiver, emyjtying into the Illinois, makes a spot naturally 
advantageous for settlement. All of the old trails and roads wdiich lead 
from the southeast into the northwestern and northeastern parts of the 
state crossed the Illinois River near this junction. Ottawa thus started 
as a junction place. The sandy soil and abundance of coal for fuel led to 
extensive glass manufacture here as in Utica, La Salle, and Peru. Lamp 
chimneys, bottles, etc., are manufactured, and flour, feed, brick, and tile 
are also important mauTifactured articles. Where the river has cut its 
deep channel through the rock layers, coal strata are exposed and mining 
is common. It was in this region that coal was first discovered in America 
by Father Hennepin in 1698.- 

La Salle (10,416) is more of a manufacturing centre than Ottawa, 
owing to better railway facilities. Three important railway lines 
pass through La Salle, and here is the terminus of the Illinois- 
Michigan Canal, These facts have made the city chiefly a shipping 
and transfer point. In the early days this was the head of navigation. 
C^oal and zinc are mined about La Salle. One of the largest zinc 
works in the world is located here. The manufacture of cement 
is an important industry ; implements, clocks, and glass are also 
manufactured. 

Peru (6863) is closely connected with La Salle, and produces 
clocks, scales, ploughs, and bricks. Quantities of ice are cut in these 
cities during the winter and shipped to places less fortunately situ- 
ated. La Salle and Peru are built on liigh bluffs overlooking the 
broad river valley, which at this point has cut into the bed-rock 
in such a way as to leave many beautiful hills and cliffs. The 
rugged aspect of this region, naturally well supplied with trees, makes 
it probably the most noted scenic centre of the state. Starved Rock, 



46 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



Deer Park, and other places about the entrance of the Big Vermilion 
River are becoming popular summer resorts on account of their 
natural beauty and historic interest. 

Pontiac (4266) lies about 45 miles from the mouth of the Big 
Vermilion River. The water power of the rapids caused a mill to 
be built here, which for years was the milling centre for all of the 
productive farm laud around for many miles. Though this industry 




Fig. 35. 
Mill at Pontiac ou site of original mill. 



has become unimportant, it gave Pontiac with its three railroads the 
prestige which makes the town still the shipping and distributing 
centre for this part of the state. The chief manufacturing industry is 
the production of boots and shoes. The Illinois State Reformatory 
is located here. In this institution about 1500 boys between the 
ages of ten and twenty-one are confined and are given an industrial 
education together with a common school education. Pontiac is 
the county seat of Livingstone County, which is the greatest oat- 
producing county in the state. 

Streator (14,079) is located about halfway between Pontiac and 
La Salle. It is the heart of a great coal-mining region and is one 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 47 

of the most important coal-sliipping centres of the state. Bottles, 
window g'hiss, tile, brick, machinery, and hardware are the principal 
manufactnred products. Corn and live stock are raised in abundance 
in the surrounding county and are shipped from Streator. 

Hennepin (52oj is the county seat of Putnam County, the smallest 
county in the state, -it is important as being near the starting-point 
of the Hennepin or Illinois-Mississippi Canal. (See page 16.) The 
land of Putnam and Burean counties is probably the most produc- 
tive of any in the Illinois Basin. No large cities are located here, 




Fig. .%. 
Pontiac Reformatory — battalion formation. 



but all railroad stations ship large harvests of wheat, corn, rye, and 
barley. The rich sloping land of Bureau County produces more 
fruit than any county in the Illinois Basin. The old town of 
Princeton (4023) is the county seat. 

Lake Peoria is formed by the widened channel of the Illinois River, 
and is a broad body of water through which the river flows. About this 
body of quiet water the Indians built their villages, and at its south end, 
on the east bank, as early at 1680, La Salle made his headquarters at Fort 
Creve Cceur. (See page 23.) 

Peoria (56,100), the second city of Illinois, began as a French 
settlement, nestled on the level land under the high bluffs which 



48 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



stand back from the west side of the ilver and the lake. It was 
one of the hxst French towns to resist the settlement of Americans. 
Its French })opulation and their supposed sympathy with the Indians 
during the Indian troubles of 1812 led to the burning of the 
town by the Americans and the removal of the inhabitants. Sur- 
viving many early struggles, its advantageous-location in the midst 
of a rich agricultural region, and its natural advantages as a ship- 
ping and transfer centre, caused tlie town to grow gradually but 
steadily. Now its splendid residence portion covers the high bluffs 
back of the original town, and tlie lower level valley is largely 
reserved for the commercial and manufacturing districts. Numerous 




Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria. 

railroad lines from all directions run in on this level plain, bringing 
raw products for manufacture and distribution in this busy city. 
Its central location has made it a great wholesale centre for groceries 
and provisions, and a great receiving point for corn. The country 
all about is underlaid with coal, and mining has made Peoria an 
important place for the manufacture of machinery and implements. 
The cheap fuel has led to the manufacture in Peoria of nearly 4 per 
cent of the total manufacture of the state. Being in the heart of the 
great corn belt, it has grown to be the most important centre in the 
United States for the manufacture of glucose, alcohol, and distilled 
liquors. Rye also is used in the distilleries, and the demand has 
stimulated the production of this grain in the northwestern part of 
the state. Canning of vegetables, fruit, and corn is an important 



c'lriEs AN/) ror.v77/;,s Jir PiiYsioanAPiiicAL iiKaioxs 40 

industry of Peorui. Of what county is Peoria the county seat? 
How far is Peoria from Chicago ? From St. Louis ? 

Galesburg (18,607) is the county seat of Knox County, which 
lies on the highland of the Cham^Daign moraine, forming the divide 
between the Illinois and Rock River basins. The Spoon River rises 
with many heads from among the hills of Knox and Stark counties. 
The early settlers found these moraines well wooded and attractive 
places for settlement. Galesburg, with its wide and well-shaded 
streets, has more the appearance of an Eastern place than most Illi- 
nois cities. The location here of Knox College and Loml^ard Uni- 
versity, makes it something of an educational centre, with the 
characteristics of a college town. It does not rank high as a 
manufacturing city, but is the centre in Illinois of the C. B. & Q. 
Railroad, containing tlieir large shops. A superior quality of paving 
brick is manufactured here. 

Monmouth (7460) is almost directly Avest of Galesburg, and is the 
county seat of Warren County. This is one of the few wheat-producing 
counties of northern Illinois, but its wheat harvest does not equal in value 
the production of corn or of live stock. Monmouth is nuich like Gales- 
burg in its characteristics, and is the seat of jVfonniouth College. Pottery, 
ploughs, tile, and brick are its most inqDortant manufactures. 

Pekin (8420) is situated a few miles below Peoria on tiie flood-plain of 
the east bank of the Illinois River. It is the county seat of Tazewell 
County and the centre of a great coal-mining region, shipping great quan- 
tities of coal over the four roads centring there. It is an extensive manu- 
facturing place, producing farm implements, flour, hominy, and other corn 
products. Like Peoria, it produces distilled liquors, glucose, and starch. 

Havana (3268) is the county seat of Mason County, and is situated in the 
broad portion of the Illinois River valley where the flood-plain spreads out 
into a great level floor covered with rich, sandy loam and silt soil. This 
flood-plain continues for many miles on the east side of the river through 
the western part of Cass, Morgan, Scott, and Green counties. The condi- 
tions of soil here make this strip a splendid wheat-producing region, while 
the protection offered in the lower valley by the bordering bluffs makes the 
region also suitable for the production of fruit. 

Beardstown (4827) is situated nnich as Havana is. Both are extensive 
shipping points for wheat, live stock, fruit, ice, and fish. The Illinois 
River is one of the greatest fish-producing streams in the United States. 
Nearly half a million dollars' worth of fish are taken out annually, and 
many persons make good profit by fishing along the river in this region. 

Jacksonville (15,078), the county seat of Morgan County, is 
located on the liighlainl, back from the Illinois River, liaili-oads 



50 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

were afterward built along these roads, making Jacksonville an im- 
portant junction and shipping point. Although it has some extensive 
manufacturing and shipping interests, it is chiefly an educational 
centre. The State Institution for the Education of the Blind and 
Deaf and the Central Hospital for the Insane are located here. 
The other educational institutions are Illinois College and Illinois 
Woman's College. 

The Sangamon River, with its many tributaries, winds through the 
richest corn, live-stock, and coal region of the state. Nearly all of the 
tributaries of the Sangamon rise in well- wooded ravines in the Champaign 
moraine. McLean County, the largest county of the state, is the water- 
shed county of the central part of the state. High and well-drained 
land, well supplied with groves of timber, was the kind the eastern emi- 
grants eagerly sought in the early days. As the old Danville road ran 
along the top of the Champaign moraine, it crossed a grove in which there 
was a fresh, cold spring. This made an enticing camping-place for the 
pioneers, and was early given the name of Blooming Grove. 

In 1831 Bloomington (23,286) was made the county seat of McLean 
County. In 1852 this prosperous farming community attracted the 
Illinois Central Road, which built along the old north and south road. 
The " Big Four " soon took advantage of the old Danville road, and 
Bloomington became a shipping and transfer centre. To-day these 
characteristics are the dominant ones : a prosperous cit}^ of retired 
farmers, a wholesale and railroad centre, and a county seat. It is 
not an important manufacturing city, but the large Chicago and 
Alton shops give employment to many men. The clay soil gives rise 
to the manufacture of paving-brick, tile, etc. 

Normal (3795) was originally a railroad junction of North Bloom- 
ington, but in 1857 the state legislature provided for the first state 
normal school west of New York, and established it in North Bloom- 
ington as the State Normal University. Around this grew up the 
town of Normal, one of the educational centres of the state. 

The many streams that rise in McLean County and flow toward the San- 
gamon River unite in the lower land of Logan County, forming Salt River, 
the largest tributary of the Sangamon. These numerous streams give the 
low rich land of Logan County good drainage, making a valuable corn, 
vegetable, and small fruit region. Lincoln (8962) is a railroad and dis- 
tributing centre for the region and the county seat. Its coal, agricultui'al 
products, and lumber from the numerous stream valleys fiirnish Lincoln 
with many commodities for exchange. 



CITIES, AND aOUNTIKS BY PIIVSKX.'RA I'lIICAL flEaiONS i'A 

Springfield (34,150). — Elislia Kelly, an Irisliman from North 
Carolina, was attracted by the productive land of the Sangamon 
Valley, and in 1818 built his cabin on the highest mound he could 
find, which happened to be on a small timber branch of the Sangamon, 
called Spring Creek. He drew about him other settlers of strong 
personality who were natural politicians. These men succeeded in 
getting their mound called Springfield, and marked as the location 
of the county seat of Sangamon County, which then comprised many 
of the central counties of Illinois. While the state capital was at 
Vandalia, Springfield determined to become the capital. It elected 
a body of nine shrewd politicians, among whom was Abraham Lincoln. 
These men, called the " long nine," succeeded in 1837 (see page 27) 
in having the state capital moved to Springfield. 

In tliose early days the route for travel and shipment to this part 
of the state from the East was down the Ohio and up the Mississippi 
to St. Louis. To reach Springfield it was necessary to go b}- trail 
from St. Louis. All farmers' supplies came this way, until in the 
thirties boats ran up the Illinois River to Beardstown. It then took 
six or eight weeks to get from the coast. The country about Spring- 
field was rich and productive, but it was too long and dangerous a haul 
to take the products to St. Louis or to the Illinois River points. When 
the railroad opened from the Atlantic coast to Pittsburg it so raised 
the selling price of farm products in the West that it stimulated the 
building of the first railroad in the state, from Springfield to Mere- 
dosia. This was the beginning of Springfield as a railroad centre. 
At present all of the important railroads of central and southern 
Illinois have connections at Springfield. 

Springfield has become important not only as a political and rail- 
road centre, but as a manufacturing centre. Heavy veins of coal 
underlie the surrounding country and are mined in and around the 
city. The shale rock that is taken out of the mines is ground, 
pressed, and baked into a very superior quality of paving and build- 
ing brick. The manufacturing of machinery and implements is a 
flourishing industry, and the Illinois watch factory employs a large 
force of men. 

The real importance of Springfield comes from its political 
position as capital of the state. The capitol building is one of the 
finest state capitols in the West. In it are all of the offices of the 
several state departments. The library and museums are especially 
tine for state institutions. The state Senate and the House of 



52 ILLINOIS STATU SUPPLEMENT 

Repi'esentatives meet here every two ycnirs. During tliis legislative 
season Springfield is a busy place. Besides tlie 204 legislators, many 
clerks, copyists, and other interested people till the city with an 
excitable, anxious throng. Curiosity makes Springfield a place of 
interest to tourists at such times. For besides the assembly, there 
are places of historic interest in the old home of our martyred Presi- 
dent, Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln Monument marks his burial- 
place, and his former residence is controlled by the state and kept in 
much the same condition in which he left it. 

Alton (14,210) is an older settlement than Springfield. As early as 
1816 the first settlement was made on the narrow level plain on the east 
bank of the Mississippi. As the country opened up to settlement, Alton 
increased in importance and became the trade centre for central and 
southern Illinois. When railroads began to build into this region, Alton 
struggled to make itself the centre for railroads })assing west and south, 
but the broadness of the river here and its narrowness at St. Louis deter- 
mined St. Louis as the great railroad centre, aiul Alton grew slowly in 
comparison. 

At present Alton is chiefly a manufacturing city, its main street 
extending several miles along the narrow river plain, from which 
the great Mississippi bluffs rise abruptly to a height of a humlred 
feet or more. This peculiar lay of land has caused the city to grow 
in an elongated extent along the river. The large glass factories, 
the shoe factory, implement works, and flour mills are built on the 
level plain along the river, while the residences are built back on 
the edge of the bluffs and in the wooded ravines that run in among 
them. Alton's chief industry is the manufacture of glass conunodi- 
ties, — bottles, etc., — at which 3500 men are employed. In what 
county is Alton ? What is the county seat ? 

St Louis (575,238) and East St. Louis (29,655). (See page 23.) 
The early French settlement of St. Louis was well chosen for later 
growth. When emigrants wanted to cross the Mississippi they 
found the narrow place at St. Louis the most desirable. From 
Vincennes, from Mt. Carmel, and from many landing places along 
the Ohio River old roads ran directly to Piggot's Ferry, at this 
place. Later, the river boats found the highland washed by 
the deep river a dry and safe place for landing in contrast to the 
low, shallow places usually found along the Mississippi River. 
The boats' cargoes were here unloaded and distributed to all 
])arts of the Illinois 'I'erritory. T>ater, when projectors of rail- 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PIlYSIOGUAPllICAL RECIONS 53 

roads looked for a place to build across the river, this was 
the place most easily crossed. Tlius St. Louis became and is at 
present the great distributing point for southern Illinois. One great 
disadvantage St. Louis has always felt is its situation on the west 
side of the Mississippi, all goods crossing the river having to pay a 
high bridge toll. On the east side of the river, however, the flood- 
[)lain was wide and very low, covered with small lakes and marshes, 
and at every flood the land was completely submerged. It was 
necessary for the railroads to cross this lowland to get to the bridge. 
They elevated their tracks above the dangers from floods and made 
something of a freight centre on the east bank. Manufacturing and 
storage concerns found it worth while to build here among the rail- 
roads rather than to pay the high bridge toll of from five to six 
dollars a car. This was particularly true of live-stock concerns. 
Much of the live stock was shipped from or to the good feeding farms 
in central and southern Illinois. Stock-yards need a great deal of 
land. Land was high in St. Louis and very cheap in P2ast St. Louis. 
Coal in abundance was mined on the bluffs a few miles east of East 
St. Louis^ so that fuel was cheap. These are the chief reasons why 
East St. Louis became a manufacturing and shipping portion of 
St. Louis. The lowness of the land made East St. Louis an uncom- 
f(n-table and unhealthful place in which to live, and those who could 
afford it had their residences on the high land of St. Louis. Grad- 
ually, however, small homes Avere built on the higher land of the 
valley. The land was drained, dikes were built along the river to 
keep tlie floods back, and as a consequence more homes and retail 
stores were built until East St. Louis became a low, muddy city of 
about 15,000 inhabitants. A general move was made to elevate the 
whole city, and one of the most wonderful undertakings in city build- 
ing was accomplished. Temporary railroads were built in the streets 
and earth was hauled in from the bluffs several miles back of the 
city. Streets were built up, buildings were raised. The level of 
the whole city was raised from eight to twenty feet. The work is 
hardly finished, but residences have been built and more manufactur- 
ing concerns have moved in, so that East St. Louis has doubled in 
size in the last ten years, and in 1900 was the sixth city in size in 
the state, and the third in importance of manufactures. The indus- 
try of most importance is the exchange and slaughter of live stock. 
The great stock-yards cover 650 acres and are next in importance to 
those of Chicago. Here is the largest horse and mule market in the 



54 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



central West. All of the large meat-packing firms have big plants 
here. The several large iron-working and foundry concerns make 
use of the iron ore shipped up the river from Missouri. The lead 
mines of Missouri supply East St. Louis with lead ore, from which 
is manufactured white lead paint. Flour, glass, and beer are impor- 
tant manufactured articles. Nineteen railroads centre here, making 
an important freight exchange and grain storage centre. In what 
state is St. Louis ? In what county is East St. Louis ? 

The Kaskaskia River Basin. — From the high bluffs east of East St. 
Louis the surface slopes gradually to the Kaskaskia Kiver and is under- 
laid by thick veins of coal. The Illinois counties surrounding St. Clair 
County include the greatest wheat, rye, and bai'ley producing region of the 




Fig. 38. 
Factory for niaiuifacture of fruit crates, typical of soiitlierii Illinois. 

state. Fruit is also grown in some abundance. In going througli this basin 
one's attention is attracted by the large, thrifty-looking farms. They seem 
older than those in the north, and nearly every farm has its old orchard. 
Many young fruit trees have been set out in this section, and large fruit 
farms are beginning to produce an abundance of apples, peaches, and small 
fruits for shipping north. There is a noticeable absence of large cities in 
this basin, although it was the first generally settled part of the state. (See 
page 26.) Many small cities, towns, and villages form centres to which 
the farmers bring their crops, grain, and fruit, and buy their supplies of 
clothing and tools. The cities were either located as the remains of some 
old French or English settlement of the early days, or have sprung up 
along the railroads at junctions or shipping points. All of them have 
much the same appearance, — one main street near the depot, several stores, 
a ])ost-uttice, schoolhouse, one or two churches, and a well spread out resi- 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PIIYSIOGRAPHICAL liEGIONS 55 

deuce district of farms or larger brick houses. A grain elevator, stock 
corral, a small grist-mill, and a sawmill are indications of the prevailing 
industry. In nearly every town of the lower basin there is a factory for 
the manufacture of barrels and wooden boxes and crates for shipping fruit. 
The timber along the streams furnishes much of the soft wood for this 
purpose. All along the railroads of the upper basin are seen the tall shafts 
and rude buildings that indicate the presence of coal mines. 

Belleville (17,484) is the largest city of the lower basin. It is 
located on tlie high land near the centre of St. Clair County, of which 
it is the seat. It is a thrifty city with a large German population, 
chiefly engaged iu the mining of coal and manufacture of iron. 




A typical mining town of Illinois. 

Vandalia (2665), many years ago the state capital, is now like Nashville 
(2184), Carlyle (1875), Greenville (2504), Salem (1642), and Hillsboro 
(19o7), a prosperous little railroad centre for the collection of agricultural 
products and coal, and chiefly important as a county seat. (Of what 
counties are these places the seats ?) Centralia (6721) is a rapidly grow- 
ing city, located chiefly on account of the rich beds of coal mined in that 
locality. It has become noted as a shipping point for fruit, especially 
ap]:)les, berries, and melons. The land about the head waters of the Kas- 
kaskia is the high, well-drained rolling soil of the Champaign and Shell)y- 
ville moraines, with wooded ravines and fresh-water springs, which appeared 
so attractive to the early settlers. This region was quite thickly settled 
and divided into large counties before any cities grew. When Shelby 
County was organized and the commissioners looked for a suitable seat, 
they chose a high mound near the west bank of the river where a spring 



56 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



attracted their attention. Here Shelbyville (3o46) grew into a railroad 
centre for a rich corn country. The upper Kaskaskia Basin is part of the 
great broom-corn producing region, and tlie manufacture of brooms is a 
consequent industry of Shelbyville. Coal is also mined in large quantities. 
Pana (5530), 20 miles west of Shelbyville, in Christian County, is a railroad 
and manufacturing centre. The extensive mining of coal has led to the 
manufacturing of iron commodities. A great deal of live stock is shipped 
from this region, jnainly to East St. Louis. 

The Big Muddy River Basin, together with all the low laud of southern 
Illinois, is familiarly known as "Egypt,"' a term which seems well applied 
when one realizes the extent of flood-plain soil. The northern part of the 




Fig. 40. 
Typicul strawberry field of southern Illinois. 

basin, like the northern part of the state, is covered with glacial drift; but 
its lower, southern part remains uninfluenced l)y the ice sheet and is covered 
with fine loam soil, which was deposited largely by old glacial lakes and 
drainage streams from the higher land on the north and south. The 
southern climate and abundant rainfall make this basin, togetlier with a 
like region in the Saline Kiver Basin directly east, the great fruit belt of 
the state. On the southern slopes of hills and rolling prairie all kinds of 
trees and small fruit flourish. The resources of this region are not as yet 
fully developed. Only within the last few years have the possibilities 
of this rich land been understood. Much of the country is covered with 
good forests of white and red oak, hickory, elm, and gum. The absence 
of glacial drift has left the bed-rock close to the surface, and in many 
places thick veins of the best coal in the state crop out from the northern 



CITIES ANT) COUNTIES BV PllYSIOaiiAPIIK'AL REaiONS 57 

slope and are easily mined by slope mines and shallow shafts. Until 
recently the transportation facilities of the region have been very meagre. 
AVith the bnilding of railroads and a chance to shij) ont the products of 
the region conies the prospect of energetic residents and abundant capi- 
tal which will make 
southern Illinois one 
of the greatest fruit 
regions of the 
United States. 

Mt. Vernon 

(5216) is located 
on a high mound 
where two old 
wagon roads have 
a junction, cross- 
ing near the liead 
of the Big Muddy 
River. It is now 
a railroad centre 
and county seat. 
Surrounded by good farms on which quantities of fruit, hay, and 
wheat are raised, and underlaid with good coal veins, it has become 







f^^ ' 


^ --■'■ 










^^1 




m^ 












B^B'JK 


1 






1 



Fig. 41. 
Typical young orchard of Big Muddy Basin. 




Fig. 42. 
Mine buildings. Shaft, washer, and implement hou.se of Peabody Mine, ]Marioii. 

a shipping and manufacturing city. The Mt. Vernon Car Manu- 
facturing Company has a large establishment here. Quantities of 
white oak from the forests of this basin are cut into railroad ties. 
At Mt. Vernon a large plant treats these ties with chemical sub- 



58 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



stances to preserve them from decay. ^Nlurphysboro (6463), Carbon- 
dale (3318), and Marion (2510) are the largest centres of importance 
in the lower basin, and are typical of all tlie smaller places of Frank- 
lin, Williamson, and Jackson connties. The city popnlation is mainly 
concerned with the mining of coal. Sawmills and factories for the 
mannfacture of fruit crates, tool handles, and [)arts of farm implements 
are scattered throughout the region. Eacli city, town, and village 
has one or more elevators for the shipment of wheat, which produces 
well here. Corn is little grown. At Carbondale is the Southern 
Illinois Normal University, the largest educational institution in 
southern Illinois. What counties are included in the Big Muddy 
Basin ? 

The Southern Non-glaciated Region. — Going south from the Big Muddy 
Basin, the land rises abruptly, and the whole appearance of the country 

changes. The great rocky hills of the 
Ozarks rise to 700 and 800 feet, way 
across the state in Union, Johnson, 
Pope, and Hardin counties, except 
where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers 
have worn their valleys and built 
their flood-plains on the west and 
east. These hills are not productive 
of agricultural crops or coal. Where 
their limestone cliffs have given way 
to narrow valleys or broad slopes, 
large oak, elm, and hickory trees 
make forests capable of producing 
good lumber. From the hills the 
land slopes to the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi rivers in broad, shelf-like ter- 
races. The lower terraces are swampy 
and filled with rough forests of cypress 
and soft-wood trees. This land needs 
drainage and clearing before its rich 
soil and warm climate can be properly utilized. Where the land is higher 
and well drained it is a wonderful fruit and wheat producing region. 

Cairo (22,566), the most southern point of Illinois, is located on 
a tongue of land which is below high-water mark, and has been 
built on a bar of sediment at the entrance of the Ohio into the 
Mississippi River. As early as 1818, far-seeing men gained posses- 
sion of this apparently worthless land. At the junction of two so 
great navigable streams a city must in time grow. Great levees 




Fig. 43. 

Cypress trees in swamp of southern 

Illinois. 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 59 




Fig. 44. 



have been built about the city 55 feet above h)\v-water mark, and a 
pumping system rapidly empties the city of any seepage water that 
enters. The busi- 
ness portion and 
much of the resi- 
dence portion have 
been filled up to a 
liigher level. A 
great railroad 
bridge costing four 
millions of dollars 
has been built 
across to the Ken- 
tucky shore. Since 
these accomplish- 
ments Cairo has 
grown rapidly in 

poiiulation but its Lumber yard near implement and crate factories in southern 

Illinois non-glaciated region. 

extensive commer- 
cial interests liave grown out of all proportion to its population. It 
has become a great point of exchange between the grain-producing 
section of the North and the grain-consuming region South. Down 

the Ohio and its 
extensive tributa- 
ries and down the 
northern Missis- 
sippi and its tribu- 
taries mau}^ ships 
bring cargoes, to 
be distributed by 
rail or reshipped 
in larger boats 
down the Missis- 
sippi. Most Gulf 
of Mexico boats 
can ascend the 
Mississippi to 
Cairo with cargoes 
for distribution to 

Piece yard, showing pieces ready for manufacture into fruit ^,, 

crates. t'le iiortli. 1 lie 




CO ILLINOIS HTATK SUPPLEMENT 

lumber industry is of the greatest importance. The liard lumber from 
the Alleghany plateaus in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
Alabama, and from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, 
comes to Cairo by boat and is here stored in great lumber-yards, 
awaiting distribution, or is made into building lumber, implements, 
and crates. 

Mound City (2705), Metropolis (4069), Golconda (1140), Elizal)etht()wn 
(068), and Shawneetown (1698) are; small county seats that liave grown 
upon the higher mounds along the Ohio. They are all alike interested in 
tlie river traffic. The chief industry of eacli is woodworking in small 
mills and factories. The hardwood lumber which comes down the Ohio is 
here made into parts for farm implements and sent to the manufacturing 
centres in the northern part of the state. Of what county is each the 
county seat? 

The Wabash River Basin in Illinois. — The land of Champaign 
and Vermilion counties, drained by tlie Vermilion River, is much 
like that of the Champaign moraine as described about Bloomington. 
The broad, rolling fields produce large crops of corn and hay, and 
consequently live stock is fattened and shipped either to Chicago or 
St. Louis. Coal is mined in some quantities in the eastern part, 
especially about Danville (16,354), tlie county seat of Vermilion 
County. As in its infancy (see page 50), Danville has continued as a 
junction place. The old roads are now occupied by railroads running 
east and west and north and south. The shipments of coal, corn, 
and live stock are large. Brick, tile, flour, and carriages are manu- 
factured. Champaign (9098) and Urbana (5728 ) are located so near 
together that they almost form one city. The location of the State 
University at Urbana, in 1867, lias made these places chiefly educa- 
tional centres. The railroads have made Champaign the railroad 
centre, though the Big Four Railroad shops at Urbana give rise to 
the largest single industry. Which is the county seat? 

Paris (6105) is located on the Shelbyville moraine, where the old Mt. 
Carmel road branched off to the west. Its chief manufactured articles are 
brooms made from the broom-corn grown tliroughout this part of the 
state. Corn, live stock, and fine horses are shipped. Paris is the seat of 
Edgar County. Mattoon (9622) is a railroad centre on the Shelbyville 
moraine. The large railroad shops account for much of its population. 
Brooms, farm implements, and agricultural products are its chief products. 
Charleston (5488) is the county seat of C'oles t'Ouiity. The region along 
the ^Vabash and its tributaries, the Embarras and Little Wabash rivers, is 
much like that of its neighbors, the Kaskaskia and Big Muddy rivers on 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PHYSIOGEAPHICAL BEGIONS 61 

the west. The agriculture of all this region along the Enibarras River is 
mainly taken up with the production of broom-eorn. These counties 
produce two-thirds of the broom-corn grown in the United States. Corn 
and live stock are raised in less abundance than they are farther north, 
wdieat and fruit becoming important in their stead. The cities are smaller, 
and of importance mainly as railroad centres and county seats. Coal is 
mined extensively in the lower basin of the Little Wabash and Saline 
rivers and makes manufacture of some importance. Olney (4260), Mt. 
Carmel (4:111), and Carmi(29.')l») are the largest cities of this section. 




Fic. 40. 

Building- a railroad throiijili a typical southern Illinois region. Limestone with thin 

soil above. 



The Rock River Basin is the highest basin in the state. The river, with 
its two important branches, the Pecatonica and the Kishwaukee rivers, 
falls rapidly but gradually from the highlands to its mouth, thus furnish- 
ing excellent water-power for manufacturing purposes. The rolling land 
above the valley is well occupied with farms, where corn and hay, and 
consequently live stock, are produced in abundance. The dairying industry 
before noticed along the Fox River is prominent also in the Rock liiver 
Basin. More rye is produced in this basin than in any other in the state. 
No coal is mined in the basin. The northwestern corner of the state can 
hardly be included in this basin, but drains by short streams directly into 



62 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

the IMississippi. Tliis is a non-glaciated portion, and its characteristics 
are marked. (8ee page 16.) The early discovery of lead and zinc 
ore along Fever River cansed an early rush for this region, and Galena 
(5005) grew as a mining centre. These metals are still mined in small 
quantities, but the discovery of other richer deposits farther west and the 
tendency to exhaust the supply here have decreased the importance of the 
industry in Illinois. Galena was for a long time the home of U. S. Grant. 
His house is now preserved in memory of him. Of what county is Galena 
the seat ? The early emigration to Galena had an important effect upon 
the development of the Rock River ]^)asin. Where the old roads led 
across the river, settlements started and have grown into cities, chiefly 
important as manufacturing centres. This region was settled almost 
entirely by people from the North, New^ England, and New York State. 
The wooded valleys and well-drained land had their influence on making 
the handsome cities now foimd in this basin. 

Freeport (13,258) grew from a small settlement started in a liigli 
and attractive location. It is now an important railroad centre and 
manufacturing cit}^ Windmills, vehicles, and implements are the 
chief manufactured articles. Of what county is Freep)ort the seat ? 

Rockford (31,051) began as a settlement where the same Galena 
road which passed through Freeport forded the Rock River. The 
broad, level flood-plains on each side of the. river, bordered with 
high bluffs, formed an attractive birthplace for what was to become 
one of the most beautiful cities in Illinois. The first settlers 
were New Englanders, and their energy, attracting more people of 
the same kind, built the present manufacturing and shipping city of 
Rockford. Working lumber into furniture, doors, sashes, and win- 
dows is the chief industry. Dairy products and harness supplies are 
important shipments. Rockford is a large wholesale centre for 
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It is also an educational 
centre. Rockford College is situated here. Of what county is 
Rockford the seat ? 

Belvidere (6937), like Freeport and Rockford, owes its location to the 
old road crossing over the Kishwaukee River. The country surrounding 
Belvidere is especially suited for dairying, and Belvidere is noted for 
the manufacture of condensed milk and other dairy products. The larg- 
est sewing-machine factory in the state employs 1500 skilled workmen, 
and is located at Belvidere. This town is the seat of Boone County. 
T>e Kalb County is also in the stock and dairy region. The land is high 
and is drained by a number of streams, north into the Rock River system 
and south into the Illinois River. The natural timber along these streams 
attracted the early settlers, who believed that crops could not be grown on 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BY PIIYSIOGRAPIIICAL REGIONS 63 

the prairie soil. In the contest for the county seat Sycamore CM'>-'t'\) was 
selected and soon became the commercial centre for the region. Tlie can- 
ning of vegetables and manufacture of hardware are the important indus- 
tries. De Kalb (5904) has outgrown the county seat, chiefly owing to superior 
railroad facilities, and has become an important manufacturing and shii> 
piug centre. Barb and woven wire fencing is the most important manu- 
factured product. Large dairy and fancy stock farms surround this city. 
]3e Kalb is the seat of the Northern Illinois State Normal School. 

Dixon (7915) is one of the oldest cities in this basin. Dixon's Ferry, 
across the Rock River at this point, was a popular crossing place for the 
more southern of the old roads leading to Galena. The water-power has 
made Dixon a manufacturing city. It has the largest condensed-nrilk fac- 
tory in the world. Wagons, farm machinery, and pianos are important 
products. Of what county is Dixon the seat ? 

Sterling (6309) and Rock Falls (2176), on either side of the river, are 
a few miles below Dixon, and both are manufacturing centres, located 
where rapids in the river give natural water-power. Almost the first 
building was a mill, and since its success mills and factories have located 
about the dam. The manufacturing of harvesting machinery and farm 
tools is the most important industry. Wire, furniture, and flour are ship- 
ping products. What is the seat of Whiteside County ? 

Below Sterling, the Rock River Basin assumes very different character- 
istics from those of the upper basin. The river flows through low, level 
land, once occupied by the broad Mississippi. (See page 17.) At the mouth 
of the Rock River the Mississippi divides, and flows in two unequal streams 
on both sides of a large limestone island. The low flood-plains on the 
east bank and the high bluffs of the west bank were favorite places for 
Indian villages, and the island made a safe retreat for them in time of war. 
Though this made a favorable place for the white men to trade, like 
Chicago it was too much of an Indian thoroughfare for permanent white 
settlements, until in 1816 the government built a fort on the island, which 
afforded the settlers protection. 

The east bank was the more favored for residence, and a small 
settlement grew rapidly on the broad flood-plains, under the protec- 
tion of the prominent bluffs behind. When Rock Island County v^as 
apportioned off, this settlement became the seat under the name of 
Rock Island. At this point the Mississippi River flows over rapids 
with a fall of 21 feet in 14 miles. These rapids are especially 
prominent on the east side of the island, and in a very earl}^ day 
this splendid water-power was utilized for small mills to make 
lumber of the logs that were floated down the Mississippi from the 
more northern forests. Then Rock Island, and the city of Daven- 
port in Iowa on the west bank, became great lumber centres for a 
time, but the decreasing supply of lumber in the northern forests 



64 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



has caused this industry to greatly diminish. Numerous manu- 
facturing concerns built along the river to use the water-power. 
The growth along the river was limited by the high hills above the 
flood-plains, and another manufacturing city, Moline, grew just 




Fia. 47. 
Armory Row — front of shops. Rock Island Arsenal. 

above Rock Island. Thus the tri-cities of Rock Island (19,403), 
Moline (17,248), and Davenport grew on the shores about the 
island. The island made the river easy to bridge at this point, and 
the government aided the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway 
to build here the first railroad bridge across the i\Iississippi connecting 
the West with the East. This gave the tri-cities the impetus to 
boom into what they now are, — centres of manufacture and ship- 
ping. The island is the property of the federal government, and on 
it is the most complete government arsenal for the manufacture of 
army supplies. Between 25,000 and 30,000 men are thus employed 
who make their homes in the tri-cities. Rock Island is the chief 
railroad centre. Its manufactures are mainly lumber, stoves, 
ploughs, and farm implements. Moline has a population largely 
composed of thrifty Scandinavians. This with its water-power has 
made it a manufacturing city. The largest plough works in the 
world are located here. Many other farm implements, wagons, 
brick, tile, lime, etc., are manufactured here. The tri-cities have 
always felt the lack of any connection by water transportation 



CITIES AND COUNTIES BV PHYSIOGRAPHIC AL REGIONS 65 

with the Great Lakes. For many years it has been planned that 
a canal should be built through the old Mississi})pi River bed (see 
pages 16, 27) from below the rapids on Kock Kiver to connect with 
the Illinois near Hennepin. Work on the canal is progressing from 
both ends and should be completed in a few years, connecting with 
the tri-cities by a cheap canal route Chicago and the (Ireat Lakes 
by means of the Illinois River and the lUinois-AHeliigan Canal. 

The Mississippi River below Rock Ishuul, to tlie entrance of the 
llUnois River, flows between high ))kiffs uu each side ; but on the IlHnois 
side for most of the distance a low flood-plain lies between the river and 
the bluffs, so low that it is poorly drained and subject to overflow and 
floods from the jNIississippi. At a few places the bluft's come near the river, 
and here small towns have grown. 

The only place of great importance is Quincy (36,252), located 
wdiere the long line of bluffs makes a bend toward the river, leaving 
high land and a splendid location for a city. The Indians realized 
tlie advantages and beauty of this location, and one of the largest 




Fic. 48. 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Hdinc at Qiiiiicy. 

Sauk villages was located here. A white trading-i)ost was located 
here, and its growth progressed much as at Rock Island. 

Quincy formed a good landing place for early river transporta- 
tion, and from it old trails ran in all directions to tlio centre of the 



66 ^ ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

state. On eaccoiint of the liigli l)luffs on eacli side the river was 
easily bridged, and Qnincy l)ecanie tlie distributing point, not only 
foi' Illinois, but for nortliern Missouri. It is also an important 
railroad and manufacturing centre and ranks third in size in the 
state. Its chief industries are those concerned with the manufacture 
of lumber into commodities : furniture, cabinets, building material, 
implements, and wagons. Stoves, iron, and leather work are also 
important products. 



CHAPTER V 

Summary 

Population. — Illinois ranks as tlie tliird statu in tlic iinnibcr of 
its inhabitants, only Nuw York and Pennsylvania having a gi'eater 
population. ''The po[nilation of the state in ll'OO was 4,821,550, as 
compared with the [)opulatioii in 1800 of 3,82(^,858, showing an 
increase during the last ten years of 995,190, or 26 per cent. The 
total land surface of Illinois is 56,650 squai'e miles, of which 650 
square miles is water, the average number of persons to the square 
mile being 86. There are 930 incorporated cities, towns, and villages 
in Illinois : 614 have less than 1000 inliabitants ; 878 have less than 
5000, 27 have more than 5000 but less than 10,000 ; 14 have more 
than 10,000 but less than 20,000 ; four have more than 20,000 but 
less than 25,000." ^ All of the larger cities of Illinois show an 
increase in population since 1890. The largest percentage of gain is 
95.4 for East St. Louis and the smallest 15.1 for Quincy. 

The urban population is rapidly increasing in the northern part 
of the state, and the country population in the southern portion of 
the state is growing as the value of the land for agricultural pur- 
poses is being realized. A glance at Fig. 22 will show that the 
population is much denser in the western and northern parts of the 
state and also much denser along natural transportation routes than 
it is in counties situated at a distance from lakes or navigable 
xivers. 

Agricultural and Mining Products. — As an agricultural state 
Illinois ranks among the first, the value of its farm lands being tlie 
highest of any state; it falls below Iowa alone in total value of 
farm products. The great diversity of its products keeps it from 
ranking far above other states in the production of any one crop. 
Corn is the greatest crop, and as a corn-producing state it ranks first, 
surpassing Iowa slightly in amount and value of its corn crop. The 

1 From Census Bulletin No. 21, Dec. 15, 1900. 
07 



68 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

principal corn-producing part of the state is the central and northern 
portion, the Illinois and upper Kaskaskia and Wabash basins. The 
small amount of wheat produced in the state is not nearly enough 
for its own consumption. Rye is grown principally in the north- 
western part of the state. Most of the crops raised in Illinois are 
turned into stock or dairy products ; 450,000,000 gallons of milk 
are annually produced in the state. Illinois stands as the fourth 
state in the production of hogs and fourth in the number and value 
of its cattle. It lakes first place as a producer of horses and mules. 
The dairy products, milk, butter and cheese, so extensively pro- 
duced in the northern part of the state, cause Illinois to rank fourth 
in this line. As a fruit state its influence is just beginning to be felt 
through its railroads newly built into the southern portion, thus 
giving a means of rapid transportation to the market. 

Apples are grown over the greater part of southern Illinois, the 
counties of Clay, Marion, Richland, Wayne, Jefferson, Hamilton, 
Crawford, Effingham, Fayette, respectively, being the heaviest 
producers. 

Peaches are grown to a greater or less extent over all of southern 
Illinois. Commercial orchards, however, are confined mostly to 
territory on the Illinois Central and Chicago and Eastern Illinois 
lines, Avhich give quick transportation to northern markets. 
Marion and Union counties lead in this line. Jackson, Johnson, 
Pulaski, and Alexander counties are important j^roducers of small 
fruits. 

Gem melons are produced in great quantities. Marion County 
produces annually from 500 to 700 car-loads. INIadison County 
stands second ; 800 cars of fruit and vegetables are loaded at some 
stations along these lines, and as high as 400 cars of apples alone 
were loaded at some points in Clay County in 1892. The twenty- 
six million tons of coal mined in the state have given Illinois the place 
next to Pennsylvania as a great coal-producing state. 

Transportation and Manufactured Products. — Illinois ranks third 
as a inanufacturing state. ''The high rank of Illinois as a manu- 
facturing state is due primarily to its transportation facilities. 
The communication with the East afforded by Lake Michigan and 
its connecting waters early made Cliicago the great distributing 
centre for Eastern products to all points in the West and Southwest, 
while the Mississippi River, bordering the west portion of the state, 
afforded communication with the entire Mississippi Valley. Supe- 



SUMMARY 



69 



noted as manufacturing centres. 



Slaughtering and meat-packing is 
the most important industry in the 
state. In the 64 establishments 
reported in 1900, employment 
was given to 27,801 wage earners, 
and the produce was valued at 
.1287,922,277. Chicago is the 
great live-stock market for the 
West and Northwest. The pack- 
ing of meats was begun there in 
1836, before the city was incor- 
porated. The manufacture of 
foundry and machine-shop prod- 
ucts ranks second among the 
industries of the state, with 768 
establishments and products val- 
ued at 'f63,878,352. There are 26 establishments engaged in the 
manufacture of iron and steel, the industry third in rank. This 
industry owes its great development in Illinois to the iron 
mines of the Lake Superior region, the cheapness and ease with 
which the ore is handled on the docks of Chicago, and to the 
low price at which the large supplies of bituminous coal are 
placed on the market. The first important iron plant in the 
state was the rolling-mill built on the north branch of the Chicago 



rior railroad facilities were the direct result of the trade routes estab- 
lished by these opportunities for water transportation ; for, when 
railroad building began, Chicago was the natural focussing point, and 
to reach that city all sections of the state were traversed and opened 
up to settlement. In 1900 there were 10,997 miles of railroad in 
Illinois, a larger mileage than was shown for any other state in 
the United States. With such 
facilities for obtaining ra-w mate- 
rial and for marketing manufac- 
tui'cd ])r()duets, and with abundant 
bituminous coal in many sections 
of the state, the development 
of maiuifacturing has naturally 
been very rapid." In no other 
state are small cities and towns so 



ILLINOIS MANUFACTURES 

Slioniii^ lu'oportioiial amounts 
iu vurioiis cities. 



Chicago 70-6^ 



Peoria 3.9:« 



East St. Louis... i.'i 



Joliet 2.2? 

Itockford I'i-... 

Pekin ...1^ 

Moline.- .8%... 

Quincy 7 %... 

Aurora ..6;^.... 

Elgin G%-. 

Springfield .5^_. 

Decatur .5 ^ _ 

Dixon.- .4.%.-. 

Rock Island A %.... 

Alton - .4 % — 

Waukeg-an.-- A %—■ 

Kewanee A 

Other Cities .12.9; 

( £Hch having less than 4 % ) 




Fig. 49. 



70 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

River in 1857. The first steel rail made in the United States was 
rf)lled in this plant. There were 114 establishments engaged in 
the manufacture of liquors in 1*J00, but the value of products 
has decreased over 10 per cent during the last decade. The abun- 
dance of corn caused distilleries to be started in many parts of 
the state at an early date, but Peoria seems to have been the most 
favored location for this industry. This city has become the largest 
producer of whiskey and high wines in the United States. The 
manufacture of agricultural implements is next in importance. The 
increase in the value of these products during tlie last decade was 
'i>17,424,13(3, or 708 per cent. The agricultural expansion of the 
state was so rapid that the blacksmiths' shops early developed into 
agricultural implement factories. The two important raw materials, 
wood and iron, were obtained at low prices as a result of the cheap 
transportation afforded by the Great Lakes. This condition gave 
tlie rapidly growing state a greater advantage, and many Eastern 
manufacturers of these products located their plants in the new field. 
Men in other pursuits changed their occupations and embarked in 
manufacturing enterprises of this character. Competition aroused 
the inventive spirit, and one improvement after another followed. 
Ploughs, wagons, and all kinds of machines demanded or needed by 
the farmer are now made in Illinois. Nearly every town and city in 
the state has a factory for the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments, and their value is now more than three times that of the 
similar output of any other state. 

Other important manufactories in the order of their importance 
in the state are 2000 establishments engaged in printing and publish- 
ing, and 900 concerns in manufacturing men's clothing. The 871 
grist and flour mills show a decrease in the value of their products for 
the last decade. The 17 large establishments engaged in the manu- 
facture of steam railroad cars produced rolling stock to the value of 
*17,117,223 during the ten years from 1890 to 1900, giving Illinois 
first rank in this line of manufacture. There are 98 railroad estab- 
lishments engaged in car construction and general shop work. 
The six glucose factories consumed corn to the value of 20 per 
cent of the entire corn crop of the state. There are now 35 dis- 
tinct products made from corn by the glucose plants. The furni- 
ture industry is represented by 148 establishments. An increase 
of 61 per cent in the value of cheese, butter, and condensed milk 
measures in part the growing importauce of the dairy industry. 



SUMMARY 71 

These are the 13 most important manufacturing industries of the 
state. 1 

Government. — There are certain things which must be clone in 
order that the 4,821,550 people in the state may advance and live 
peaceably and conveniently together ; laws must be made to keep 
them from interfering with one another, roads must be built, schools 
held ; and homes protected from fire and thievery. If every man 
took the time to do all these things for his family, he would have 
little time for other business. It has been found best that each man 
should attend to his special business and contribute part of his earn- 
ings to pay men who are capable of doing these things for the good 
of the people of the state. It is intended that each man should have 
an equal chance at election time in voting for the man whom he wishes 
to have do these things for him. The state is divided into various 
districts, each with its definite boundaries and each with a special part 
to play in the organization of the whole. Each school district, town- 
ship, county, and legislative district has its own officers elected by the 
people residing within its boundaries, and over all is one executive, 
the governor, elected by the people of the whole state. 

All the states which are united to form the United States are 
very similar in their organization within themselves. Each state 
has control of matters within its own boundaries so long as other 
states are not affected. For the purpose of controlling its own 
affairs Illinois is organized under a form of government very much like 
that of the United States. There are two legislative bodies which 
meet at Springfield once in two years to make the laws of the state, 
levy taxes, and make appropriations for public improvements. 
The smaller of these bodies is called the Senate or "Upper House." 
Tlie larger is known as the House of Representatives or " Lower 
House." The Senate is composed of 51 senators, each elected for 
four years from a senatorial district. Each district elects three 
representatives to the Lower House. What legislative district 
do you live in? With the Governor are a number of other state 
officers such as the Secretary of State, State Auditor, Treasurer, 
Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. These 
officers, with many boards, commissioners, and inspectors, appointed 
by the Governor, have charge of the different departments of state, 
aiding the Governor in executing the laws made by the legislature 

1 Most of this material on manufactures has been taken from the Twelfth Census 
of the United States, Vol. VIH. 



72 ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 

and seeing that the state Constitution and the laws are enforced. 
The judicial department is composed of the Supreme, Circuit, and 
Appellate courts. These courts explain and apply the laws of the 
state and thus assist the executive officers in seeing that laws are 
properly fulfilled by the people. Each county, each township, and 
each city has its own officers who attend to the public duties in 
tliese smaller divisions, much as tlie state officers do for the state as 
a whole. 



APPENDIX 



TABLE T. (niOWni OF STATE IX I'OPUF.ATION 







Increase 




Population 






Number 


Per Cent 


1900 


4,821,550 


995,199 


26.0 


1890 . 














:5,826,851 


748,480 


24.3 


1880 . 
















0,077,871 


537,980 


21.1 


1870 . 
















2,539,891 


827,940 


48.3 


1860 . 
















1,722,951 


860,481 


101.0 


1850 . 
















851,470 


375,287 


78.8 


1840 . 
















476,183 


318,738 


202.4 


1880 . 














• 


157,445 


102,283 


185.4 


1820 . 
















55.162 


42,880 


349.1 


1810 . 
















12,282 







TABLE II. TABLE OF SOILS UF ILLINOIS i 



Variety 


Origin or Mode of 
Deposition 


Areal Distribution 


Besiduary 


Decay of tho un- 
derlying rocks 


Driftless poi'tion of the state wherever 
the loess as well as the glacial drift is 
absent. 


Glacial clay 


Glacial 


Mainly in the northeastern quarter of the 
state where loess and silts are gener- 
ally absent. The Shelbyville moraine 
forms the southern boundary, and 
chiefly the western boundary, but in 
northern Illinois glacial clays form the 
soil on the older drift area between the 
Shelbyville moraine and the loess of 
the Mississippi Valley. 



1 Taken from the Report of Illinois Board of World's Fair Commissioners. 1803, 



74 



ILLINOIS STATE SUPPLEMENT 



TABLE 11. TABLE OF SOILS OF ILLINOIS — Conimuerf 



Variety 


Origin or Mode of 
Deposition 


Areal Distribution 


Gravelly 


Glacial overwash 
streams, lakes 


With the glacial clay in the northeastern 
part of the state and along streams 
leading away from the Shelby ville and 
later moraines. This variety of soil 
includes gravel knolls and ridges, over- 
wash graA^el plains, terraces, and raised 
beaches. 


Sandy 


Glacial drainage 
streams, lakes, 
winds 


Mainly in basins along the Kankakee, 
Green, and lower Illinois rivers ; old 
lake-bottom and raised beaches near 
Chicago ; also on bottom-lands, and 
fringing in many places the low bluffs 
of streams, and locally developed on 
areas of glacial formations. 


Silts pervious to 
vi^ater (chiefly 
the typical loess) 


Mainly by slowly 
flowing waters; 
perhaps in part 
wind 


Along the Mississippi, lower Illinois, 
lower Wabash, and lower Ohio rivers ; 
also between the Illinois and the Mis- 
sissippi from the Green River Basin 
south to the latitude of Peoria and in 
the basin of the Big Bureau Creek, in 
Bureau County. 


Silts slowly pervi- 
ous to water 


Mainly by slowly 
flowing waters; 
perhaps in part 
wind 


Mainly in west central Illinois, west of a 
line connecting Alton, Litchfield, Pana, 
Decatur, and Peoria; also on the eastern 
border of the Mississippi Valley loess 
belt, in the northern part of the state. 


Silts nearly imper- 
vious to water 
(t wo kind s, 
mainly white 
clays and gvmi- 
bo) 


Nearly still wa- 
ters ; perhaps 
wind in part 


White clays cover much of southern Illi- 
nois south of the Shelbyville moraine, 
as far west as the Mississippi loess, east 
to the Wabash loess, and south to the 
Ohio River loess. Gumbo is found on 
some bottom-lands along the main river. 


Peaty and marly 


Vegetal accumu- 
lations and 
shell deposits 


Locally over the greater part of the state 
where drainage is imperfect. Peat is 
rare south of the latitude of Spring- 
field, but it abounds in the northeastern 
quarter of the state, in bogs. Marl 
deposits are less extensive than peat, 
but are fully as widespread. 



INDEX TO ILLINOIS SUPPLEMENT. 



(Numbers refer to pages.) 



Admittance of Illinois to Union as a 

state, 25. 
Agricultural products, 9, 10, 18, 41, 67, 

68. 
Alexander County, 68. 
Alton, 52. 
American settlement of Illinois, period 

of, 24, 25. 
Aurora, 43, 44. 
Batavia, 4.3, 44. 
Beardstown, 49, 51. 
Beaucoup Creek, 18. 
Belleville, 55. 
Belvidere, 62. 
Big Bureau River, 16. 
Big Muddy River, 17, 18. 

basin, 3, 17, 18, 19. 

cities and counties of basin, 56 — 58. 
Big Vermilion River, 18, 46. 
Bloomington, 50. 
Boone County, 62. 

Boundaries of Illinois, extension of, 25. 
Bureau Countv, 47. 
Cahokia. 23. 
Cairo, 58—60. 
Calumet River, 3. 

Canals, 2, 14, 16, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 42, 65. 
Carbondale, 58. 
Carlyle, 55. 
Canni, 61. 
Cass County, 49. 
Centralia, 55. 
Champaign, city, 60. 

county, 60. 

moraine, 7, 14, 16, 17, 18, 43. 
Cliarles Mound, 16. 
Charleston, 60. 
Cliartres, Fort, 23. 
Chicago, city, 26, 27, 31, .32, 33, 43, 68, 69. 

of the present, 33 — 41. 

manufacturs and commerce portion, 
33—37. 

wholesale, retail, and office portion, 38, 
39. 

residence portions, 39, 40. 

suburbs, 40, 41. 

discovery of site of, 22. 

origin of name, 30. 

educational institutions of. 41. 

plain, 2, 13, 14, 2.3, 30. 

river, 2, 14, 22, 25, 30, 31, 



Christian County, 56. 
Cities and counties of Illinois by physio- 
graphical regions, 30 — 66. 
Clark, George Rogers, 24. 
Clav County, 68. 
Climate of Illinois, 10, 11, 12. 
Coal, 4, 5, 16, 18, 19, 41, 45, 51, 53, 54, 56, 

57, 58, 60, 61, 68, 69. 
Coles County, 60. 
Corn, 9, 18, 60, 61, 67, 68. 
Crawford County, 68. 
Creve Coeur, Fort, 23, 47. 
Dairy products, 08. 
Danville, 60. 
Dearborn, Fort, 25, 30, 31. 

massacre of garrison of, 25, 31. 
Deer Park, 46. 
DeKalb, 63. 

County, 62. 
Des Plaines River, 14, 22, 30, 42, 43. 
Divides, 2, 3. 
Dixon, 63. 

Drainage areas of Illinois, 2. 
Drift, glacial, 7, 8, 16, 18, 50. 
l']ar]y settlers, 24. 

origin and character of, 27. 
East St. Louis, 23, 52, 53, 67. 
Edgar County, 00. 
Effingham County, 68. 
Egypt, name given to low land of south- 
ern Illinois, 56. 
Elevation of Illinois above sea level, 3. 
Elgin, 43, 44. 
Elizabethtown, 60. 
Embarras River, 2, 18, 61. 
Emigration into Illinois after War of 

1812, 26, 27. 
English in Illinois, The, 22, 24, 25. 
Farm animals, 9, 60, 61, 68. 
Fayette County. 68. 
Fever River, 26, 62. 
Forests. 56, 58. 
Fox Lake, 14, 43. 

river, 16, 43, 45. 
Franklin County, 58. 
Freeport, 62. 

French and Indian War, 24. 
French in Illinois. The, 22, 23, 24. 
Fruit. 9, 10, 12, 18, 20, 54, 56, 57. 58, Gl, 

68. 
Galena 26, 27, 62. 



76 



INDEX. 



Galesburg, 49. 

Geneva, 43, 44. 

Gok'onda, GO. 

(lovenimeiit of Illinois, 71, Tii. 

Grant, U. S.. 2(5, (J2. 

Grass Lake, 14, 43. 

Green County, 49. 

river, 17. 
Greenville, 55. 
Grundy County, 43. 
Hardin County, 58. 
Havana, 49. 
Hay, 9, 18, 60, 61. 
Hennepin, 47. 
Hillsboro, 55. 

Historv of Illinois, 21—29. 
lee sheet, 5, 13, 14. 18, 19. 
Illinois County, ceded to United States. 
24. 

organized as part of Virginia, 24. 
Illinois Indians, 21, 22, 23, 24. 

origin of name, 22. 

river, 1, 2, 7, 14, 10, 17. 22, 23, 27, 30, 
43, 45, 49. 

river basin 7, 14, 16, 17, 68. 

cities and counties of basin, 41 — 54. 

Territorv organized, 25. 
Indians, 22, 24, 25, 41, 45, 47, 63, 65. 
Jackson County, 58, 68. 
Jacksonville, 49. 
Jefferson County, 68. 
Johnson Countv, 58, 68. 
Joliet, 22, 42. ' 
Kane County, 43. 
Kankakee, River. 14. 

town, 43. 
Kaskaskia River, 18, 23. 25. 

river basin, 3, 17, 18, 19, 24, 26, 56, 08. 

cities and counties of basin, 54 — 56. 

town, 23, 24, 25. 
Kinzie, John, The '"Father of Chicago," 

31. 
Kishwaukee River, 61. 
Knox County, 49. 
Lakes, 7, 15, 16. 
La Salle County, 45. 

explorer. 23, 47. 

town, 27. 
Lead, 17, 26, 62. 
Lemont, 42. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 25, 52. 
Lincoln, 50. 

Little Muddv River, 18. 
Little Wabash River, 19, 61, 

basin, 19. 
Livingstone County, 46. 
Location of Illinois, 1, 10. 
Logan Countv, 50. 
Mackinac, Fort, 30. 
Mackinac Island, 22. 



Madison County, 68. 
Manufactured products, 68 — 71. 
INIarion County, 68. 

town, 58. 
Marquette, Father, 22. 
Mason Count}', 49. 
Mattoon, 60. 
McLean County, 50. 
Meredosia, 51. 
Metropolis, 60. 

Michigan, Lake, 1, 2, 5. 6. 7. 10. 13, U, 
22, 25, 27, 30, 68. 

drainage region, 13 — 16. 
^Mining products, 67, 68. 
Mississippi tiood plain, 3, 53, 58. 
:\Iississippi River, 1, 3, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 
51. 58, 59, 65, 68. 

upper, discovery of, 22. 

basin, 13, 14. 
^lissouri River, 23. 
Moline, 64. 
ilonmouth, 49. 
Moraines, 2, 6, 7. 
Morgan County, 49. 
jMorris, 43. 
Mound City, 60. 
INIount Carmel, 61. 
]\Iount A'ernon, 57. 
ISIurphysboro, 58. 
Nashville, 55. 

Xon-glaciated section of Illinois, 8, 18. 
19, 20, 62. 

(southern) cities and counties of, 58, 
61. 
Normal, 50. 

Northwest Territorv, 24. 25. 
Ohio River, 1, 19, 20, 23, 26, 51, 58, 59. 

basin, 3. 
Olney, 61. 
Ottawa, 45. 
Ouilmette, 31. 

Ozark Hills, 1, 7, 10, 19, 58. 
Pana, .56. 
Paris, 60. 

Pecatonica River, 17, 61. 
Pekin, 49. 
Peoria, citv. 23, 25. 47, 70. 

lake, 23," 47. 
I'eru, 45. 
Phvsiographical regions of llliiii)is, 13, 

20. 
Polk County, 58. 
Pontiac, 46. 

Population of Illinois. 28, 67, 73. 
Prairie du Rocher, 23. 
Princeton, 47. 
Pulaski County. 68. 
Pullman, 37. 
Putnam County, 47. 
Quarrying, 42. 



INDEX. 



77 



Quincv, G5, 00. 07. 

Railroads, 27, 'iS, 33. 42, 43, un. 

Rainfall, 12. 

Relief of Illinois, 1. 2. S. 

Riehland ('onnty, OS. 

Rivers, 2, 7, 8, "17, 19. 

River basins, 2, 3, 21. 

Rockford, 02. 

Rock Island, city, (i3, 04, 05. 

county, 03. 
Rock River, 17. 

basin, 3, 10. 

cities and touiities of basin, 01 — GO. 
Salem, 55. 
Saline River, 01. 

basin. 50. 
Salt River, 50. 
Sangamon, county, 51. 

river, 10^ 50. 
Scott County, 49. 
Shawneetown. 00. 
Shelby County, 55. 
Shelbyvillo, 50. 

Slu'Ibyville moraine, 7. 17. 18, 19. 
Slaverv Question in Illinois, 25. 
Soils, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 18, 19, 20, 73, 74. 
Southern non-glaciated region, cities and 

counties of, 58 — 01. 
Spoon River; 49. 
Springfield, 27. 51. 
Stark County,' 49. 
Starved Rock, 22, 23, 45, 40. 
State Capital, located at Kaskaskia, 24. 

moved to Vandalia, 25. 

moved to Springfield, 27. 
Statehood, period of, 25. 
St. Charles, 43. 44. 
St. Clair County, 55. 
Sterling. 03. 



St. Tgnace, Mission of, 22. 
SI. Lawrence River basin, 2. 
St. Louis, city, 23, 51, 52, 53. 

fort, 23. 
Storms and storm tracks. 10, 11. 
Streator, 40, 

Struggle for ownersliip of Illinois, 24. 
Summary for Illinois, 07 — 74. 
Summit. 42. 
Sycamore, 03. 
Taze^^■ell County, 49. 
Temperature, average, 10, 11. 
Tonty, first governor of Illinois, 23. 
Towns, beginnings of. 27. 
Transportation, OS. 09, 
Trees, 9. 
Tri- cities, 04. 
Union County, 5S. 08, 
Urbana, 00. 
Utiea, 22. 

Valparaiso moraine, 7, 13, 14, 43. 
Vandalia, 25, 27, 55. 
Vermilion County, 00. 
Vincenncs, 23. 
Wabash River, 1, 2. IS, 19, 24. 

basin, 3, 17, 18, 08. 

cities and counties of basin in Illi- 
nois. OO — 01, 
War of 1812, 25. 
Warren County, 49. 
Waukegan, 41. 
Wayne Countv, OS. 
Wheat, 8, 9, 18, 54. 58. 01. OS. 
Whiteside Countv, 03. 
Will County, 43.' 
Williamson County, 58. 
Wilmette. 31. 
Zinc, 17, 02. 



Tarr and McMurry's Geographies 

A NEW SERIES OF GEOGRAPHIES IN TWO VOLUMES 

By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A. 

Cornell University 
AND 

FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D. 

Teacher's College, Columbia University. 

lyist Price. 
Introductory Geography _-_.__ 60 Cents. 

Complete Geography ________ $1.00 

These Geographies distinguish themselves in many important 
features from all other text-books on the subject. 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC BASIS : 

It is generally conceded that rational geography must rest upon a physiographic 
foundation, and hence the physiographic facts are clearly presented. These fur- 
nish the key to human industries, transportation routes, the location of cities, etc. 

HOME GEOGRAPHY : 

Home geography is made prominent. Actual experience is made the starting 
point and the basis of all later work. The Introductory Geography begins with 
those things which are a part of every child's environment and utilizes many of 
the child's home experiences. Subsequently, other features such as mountains, 
lakes and the ocean, which are absent from many localities, are introduced as a 
preparation for future work. 

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: 

The maps are clear and distinct and are not overburdened with useless detail. 
The important features are thus made more conspicuous. The illustrations are in 
no ca.se mere pictures. Kach one conveys some information, or really illustrates 
seme point. Many photographs have been reproduced. The quality of the maps 
and illustrations is one of the most striking features of these geographies. 

TYPE STUDIES OR INTENSIVE TREATMENT : 

The old plan of treating each state individually was necessarily fragmentary 
in its nature. Repetition was unavoidable, and hence each topic could be given 
only a brief presentation. The result was an uninteresting text-book. By aban- 
doning the treatment by individual states (except in the review by states) and p:o- 
ceeding by groups of states, as well as by the intensive treatment of the basal 
topics of geography at length, it has been possible to present the fundamental 
ideas with a considerable amount of detail. The result has been to make an 
interesting narrative. 

QUESTIONS AND REVIEWS: 

Map questions at the beginning and review questions at the end of each chapter 
emphasize many important points and are of great assistance to both teacher 
and pupil. 

CONVENIENT FORM: 

These geographies are easily handled, and hence much more durable than the 
cumbrous books of earlier days. The awkward shape of the old-style geography 
made it the most perishable of all school books; the first to wear out and the 
first to be damaged. 

' Published by 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 Fifth Ave., NEW^ YORK ... 120 Boylston St., BOSTON 

378 W^abash Ave., CHICAGO - - - Empire Building, ATLANTA 

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